Towards 'men who have sex with menappropriate' health services in South Africa

Abstract

Health programming for men who have sex with men (MSM) in South Africa has been ignored or absent until fairly recently, despite this population being at high risk for HIV acquisition and transmission. Anova Health Institute, with support from the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)/United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and in collaboration with the South African National Department of Health, launched the first state sector MSM-targeted sexual health clinic in 2010. The clinic has been successful in attracting and retaining MSM in care, and lessons learned are described in this article. Components contributing to the creation of MSM-appropriate healthcare services are discussed.

Keywords

• HIV
• Men-who-have-sex-with-men
• Health systems
• HIV