In August 2016, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Eurasian Coalition on Male Health and Kyrgyz community organizations and civil society partners organized the first ever training on the new guidance on implementing comprehensive HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) programmes with gay men and other men who have sex with men in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The new guidance is the basis of programming for gay men and other men who have sex with men. It was developed through a consultative process led by UNFPA, other United Nations organizations and the Global Forum on MSM and HIV.
Working on HIV and STI prevention, treatment, care and support is deeply challenging in much of eastern Europe and central Asia. Gay men and other men who have sex with men are subjected to considerable harassment, violence, stigma and discrimination. Most men who have sex with men are socially and culturally forced to marry women and face social exclusion and family rejection if they choose to be open about their sexuality. Sex between men is clandestine and opportunities to meet, socialize and love are limited. Empowering all men who have sex with men to live with dignity, free from violence and with affordable and accessible HIV and STI prevention and treatment services is at the heart of the guidance.
The two-day training of trainers in Bishkek brought together members of civil society keen to work on rolling out the guidance—it included a general overview of the document as well as detailed presentations on each of the six chapters. The participants discussed the existing country situation and how programmes focusing on men who have sex with men and contributions to future advocacy actions could be improved.
Thanks to the hard work of the training organizers and the dedication and enthusiasm of the training participants, the Bishkek training was an overwhelming success. The materials and methods used during the training will form the basis for the development of a new training module. The training module, along with the guidance document itself, will be rolled out in countries and its recommendations will be taken into account in the development and implementation of HIV programmes focusing on men who have sex with men across the region.
