Pacific Men who have sex with men need increased government and regional institution support

October 31, 2008 - The Pacific Sexual Diversity Network (PSDN) today called on Pacific governments and regional institutions to address issues affecting men who have sex with men (MSM) and other vulnerable populations in the response to HIV/AIDS in the Pacific.

The PSDN, a network of sexual minority organisations in the Pacific, is currently undertaking advocacy and organisational capacity training in Sydney through the Australian Leadership Awards Fellowship program, which is funded by AusAID.

“Across the world, MSM and sexual minorities are significantly more vulnerable to HIV. In the Pacific these groups include fa’afafine, leitis, akavaine, vakasalewalewa, mahu, raerae, palopa and takatapui. It is vital that Pacific governments and regional donors include these groups in their response to HIV in our region”, said Ken Moala, Secretary of the PSDN.

He added that “legal barriers, stigma and discrimination, and gender inequality all make MSM and sexual minorities more vulnerable to HIV. For the Pacific to effectively respond to the HIV epidemic these factors must be addressed”.

Despite these needs, MSM projects and organisations have little to no funding from governments or donors in the region to respond to HIV prevention and sexual health issues in their communities.

“There must be resources made available urgently to fund this work. And this requires leadership from national governments as well as donors and other institutions in the Pacific,” Moala said.

As part of the ALAF program, the PSDN in partnership with ACON will be developing an advocacy strategy that will outline the range of issues facing MSM and sexual minorities in the Pacific and make recommendations to key stakeholders such as governments, regional institutions, churches, community leaders, health care workers and civil society.

Source: www.unaids.org.fj