The health sector, specifically national AIDS

Define the role of the health sector
Agreed objectives for the health sector included increasing coverage, thereby ensuring an increase in access for
MSM and transgender populations; and that services are of high quality and delivered in a manner that is free from
discrimination. The health sector, specifically national AIDS programmes in the ministries of health, public and
private health services, NGOs, community groups, professional organizations and teaching institutions, should
address the needs of sexual partners of MSM and transgender people (both male and female) in their programmes
and services.
Key recommendations for the health sector to achieve improvements in service delivery include the following:
• Ensure that governance of health sector initiatives includes representatives from civil society organizations
working with MSM and transgender people.
• Ensure that service delivery includes robust plans for monitoring and evaluation.
• Stress the importance of multisectoral collaboration to achieve health-specific goals.
• Build and strengthen coalitions among civil society and other key stakeholders to address the sexual health
needs of MSM, transgender people and their partners.
• Highlight the role that “centres of excellence”, among others, can play in improving service delivery elsewhere
in the health sector. Such centres should be identified through consultation with MSM and transgender people.
• Build on local expertise, and involve both experts and end-users of services in adapting priority interventions
and models of service delivery to address the specific local needs and situation.
• Ensure that service delivery staff are fully aware of issues specific to MSM and transgender people, and are
sensitive to their particular needs through in-service training.
• Incorporate MSM and transgender issues into the training curriculum of health-care professionals, e.g. medical
and nursing schools.
• Ensure that clinical guidelines and service delivery manuals are sensitive to the specific health issues of MSM
and transgender people.
WHO and its partners should review, revise and standardize existing guidelines and training materials for the
prevention, treatment and care of HIV and other STIs, and ensure that they adequately address the needs of MSM
and transgender people in a non-stigmatizing way. Health-care professionals need training to sensitize and help
them overcome their prejudicial, homophobic and transphobic attitudes.
5. Ensure collaboration, partnership and advocacy
• At the global level, WHO and its partners – particularly community partners – should define and refine a set of
priority, evidence-based interventions for both service-delivery settings and the broader health sector. Experts
recommended that minimum interventions should include safe access to information and education about HIV
and other STIs through peer outreach, condoms, water-based lubricants, and HIV testing and counselling as
well as STI services. The urgent need to sensitize health-care staff to MSM needs was also emphasized.
These priority interventions should be delivered within a framework of sexual health care.
• WHO, as the lead agency in the UNAIDS partnership with responsibility for the health sector, should take the
lead in advocating with other agencies (particularly UNDP) and sectors (education, justice, home affairs,
gender, youth, human rights commissions, etc.) on promoting the prevention of HIV and STI transmission
among MSM and transgender people, and address homophobia, including in health-care settings.
• WHO, UNAIDS, UNDP and their partners should advocate for the inclusion of prevention of HIV and STIs
among MSM and transgender people as a part of overall prevention efforts at appropriate events such as
ministerial meetings, the World Health Assembly, regional groupings.
6. Define the role of Regional Offices
• WHO Regional Offices should advocate, disseminate evidence and provide technical assistance to countries
to ensure universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for all MSM and transgender populations in
all countries in their Regions. Regional Offices should convene consultations on MSM and transgender issues
if these have not already taken place.