Partnership, sex, and marginalization: Moving the Global Fund sexual orientation and gender identities agenda.

Abstract

I found this article interesting because it describes a strategy approved by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), the sexual orientation and gender identities (SOGI) strategy, which will help in the mission to eradicate HIV/AIDS from most at risk populations (MARPS). - I would like to validate this information by confirming that Kenya has never had marginalized populations or MARPS, such as female sex-workers who have sex with women, male sex-workers who have sex with men, are intravenous drug users, and trans-gender, in their strategic plan until 2009/2010-2012/2013. That means that no budget was set aside by the government for HIV/AIDS-targeted interventions. Without a strategic plan for the MARPS, it has been difficult for the development partners to provide funds. Furthermore, these subsets of populations are stigmatized and criminalized in Kenya. Therefore, for the Global Fund to respond to SOGI by including these individuals in their agenda is a great push for stakeholders, including governments, to not only put money into but also provide a conducive environment for interventions, thus cutting down the chain of HIV transmission from the marginalized populations and MARPS to the general population, and vice versa. Civil society needs to lobby development partners to increase funding for HIV prevention methods, particularly in women.