Working to Advance
Health Equity in Africa

Challenges to antiretroviral adherence among MSM and LGBTI living with HIV in Kampala, Uganda

Challenges to antiretroviral adherence among MSM and LGBTI living with HIV in Kampala, Uganda

It is now possible for antiretroviral therapy (ART) to reduce viral load of HIV to the point where an infected person is no longer, or much less, infectious to others. As a result, ‘treatment as prevention’ has become the cornerstone of UNAIDS’s post-2015 global strategy to end AIDS by 2030. As the expansion of treatment provision continues, and access improves, adherence becomes a determining factor in the impact of ART for both treatment and prevention. We’re conducting a number of small scoping studies on challenges to ART adherence in men who have sex with men (MSM) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) communities living with HIV in East and Southern Africa (ESA), as key populations in the AIDS response.

This report presents findings from a scoping study carried out in Kampala, Uganda, in December 2015 is now available. The findings suggest that (double) stigma and criminalisation of behaviour of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in MSM and LGBTI communities cut across almost every perceived challenge to ART adherence as a driving or contributory factor. As a result, indications suggest MSM and LGBTI experience challenges that are similar in type to the general population, but that these population groups experience the challenges more often, more acutely, and with less opportunity to overcome the challenges.

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