Navigating Stigma Against At-Risk Sexual and Gender Minority Populations to End the HIV Epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa

LGBT Health. 2024 Oct 22. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2024.0110. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

In the past year, new laws criminalizing same-sex conduct and the promotion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights have emerged as barriers to addressing the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). An augmented approach to addressing HIV within the region's disproportionately affected LGBTQ populations, particularly transgender women and gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), is imperative for achieving the international goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030. In this article, we present recommendations to bolster the continuum of HIV care for MSM and transgender women in SSA.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS; LGBTQ stigma; MSM; global health; sub-Saharan Africa.