HIV PREVENTION PROGRAMME

For men who have sex with men (MSM)

Beyond Zero was awarded a Global Fund grant to oversee prevention programmes for MSM that aim to reduce the number of new HIV infections and further spread of HIV through provision of recommended comprehensive package of services. MSM are part of the broader key populations that have been shown to be at high risk for HIV infection. Various studies have shown that key populations are disproportionately affected by HIV compared to general population. HIV prevalence among adults aged 15 to 49 years in South Africa is 19 percent, (STATSSA 2018) The national HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) is estimated at 25.7%, with higher burden in major cities such as Johannesburg (43%), eThekwini (30%) and Cape Town (27%), (South Africa Funding request, undated). Beyond Zero, under the Global Fund grant, is tasked with rolling out a combination prevention intervention for MSM as advocated by the NSP.

    Combination HIV prevention combines all three of the following types of interventions into a single integrated approach to HIV prevention.

    • Behavioural interventions to promote and sustain safe behaviours among individuals and social units using a variety of educational, motivational, peer education and skills building interventions focusing on knowledge, attitudes, skills and beliefs.
    • Biomedical interventions to block or diminish HIV infectiousness or reduce susceptibility to HIV infection. Such interventions include condoms and lubricants, sexual and reproductive health services, antiretroviral therapy (ART), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and HIV testing and counselling.
    • Structural interventions to promote an enabling environment by addressing political, economic and sociocultural factors that are the drivers of vulnerability to HIV infection. The intervention seeks to bring to scale community empowerment and other programmes that have been proven to reduce stigma, discrimination and marginalization, including in health care settings.

    Interventions outlined above are implemented by sub-recipient (SR) partners appointed per district and capacitated to implement the intervention by Beyond Zero. The following operational areas and SRs apply for MSM module:

     

    Province

    District

    SR

    Eastern Cape

    Oliver Tambo

    SHE

    Free State

    Mangaung

    FS Rainbow Seeds

    KwaZulu Natal

    eThekwini

    Lesbian and Gay Community Health Centre

    King Cetshwayo

    Lesbian and Gay Community Health Centre

    Limpopo

    Capricorn

    ANOVA Health

    Mopane

    IHPS

    Mpumalanga

    Gert Sibande

    ANOVA Health

    North West

    Bojanala Platinum

    IHPS

    The following operational areas and SRs apply for MSM module:

    In a nutshell, MSM SRs identify key populations, reach key populations with a defined package of services that include risk reduction counselling, gender-based screening and awareness, TB and STI screening, sexual and reproductive information, commodity distribution and HIV testing services. HIV negative clientele are continuously re-engaged on regular HIV testing, enrolled on Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as appropriate and offered combination prevention. HIV positive clientele are channeled to care and treatment facilities where they are initiated on ART and supported to stay on treatment and achieve viral suppression. Comprehensive M&E systems are in place for monitoring and reporting of all activities elaborated here.