Evidence for action: a call for the global HIV response to address the needs of transgender populations
Year: 2016
Type: editorial
Abstract: Transgender people are severely underserved in the global response to HIV.Less than 40% of countries report that their national AIDS strategies address transgender people [1], despite a growing body of evidence that transgender women, in particular, face a disproportionate and heavy burden of HIV.An estimated 19% of transgender women worldwide are living with HIV, and they have almost 50 times the odds of living with HIV compared to other reproductive age adults [2].The impact among transgender sex workers is even more profound.Transgender women sex workers have a prevalence of HIV that is nine times that of non-transgender female sex workers and three times that of male sex workers [3].Data on HIV among transgender men are extremely limited.However, emerging studies among transgender men who have sex with men (MSM) suggest heightened HIV vulnerability among this group.While specific data on transgender men are lacking, in settings with high HIV prevalence and epidemics of gender-based violence, sexual assault on gender variant persons places transgender men and women at substantial risk for HIV as well as other negative sequelae of sexual violence.The stigma, violence and human rights abuses transgender people suffer drive much of their risk for HIV and hinder their access to care.While the world's response to HIV has largely overlooked transgender people and the myriad factors that increase their risk, the tide is slowly turning.In 2014, the World Health Organization provided guidance on the essential elements of HIV programming among key populations, including the first specific recommendations for transgender people [4].More recently, leaders in transgender health have spearheaded the development and launch of the first practical guide for implementing HIV and STI programmes with transgender people [5].These documents represent important steps forward in the global HIV response.However, in order to provide the most effective interventions to the populations with the greatest need, we need research that is specific to the unique concerns of transgender communities.This calls for research to be accessible to all who seek to implement transgender-competent, evidence-based programmes.This special issue of the Journal of the International AIDS Society is dedicated to that goal.We issued a global call for abstracts addressing topics relevant to HIV in transgender populations, and
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,600
Funders: United States Agency for International Development, Johns Hopkins University, U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, United Nations Development Programme, National Institutes of Health, Center for AIDS Research, University of Washington, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
OpenAlex ID: W2476945784