The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has approved in principle a landmark 47 million U.S. dollar grant for a community-strengthening program aimed at reducing the rapid and alarming spread of HIV and AIDS among men who have sex with men and among transgender people in South Asia, said the United Nations Development Program (UNPD) sources here on Wednesday.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an international financing institution, which has so far committed 18. 4
billion U.S. dollars in 140 countries to support large-scale prevention, treatment and care programs against the three diseases.
The grant proposal was submitted by Naz Foundation International (NFI), Population Services International, the UNDP Regional Center based in Colombo, and the South Asian MSM (men who have sex with men) and AIDS Network, a coalition of country level community based organizations dedicated to MSM and HIV issues, said the sources.
The five-year project will encompass Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which marks the first time the Global Fund will support a major regional project in Asia specifically addressing
MSM, transgender and HIV, said the sources.
Shivananda Khan, NFI Founder and Chief Executive, said there is an urgency in combating the spread of HIV in these long marginalized and still "invisible" populations.
"The grant provides South Asia with a promising platform which must continue to be strengthened by all concerned -- governments, international development partners and community partners alike," he said.
"Millions of gay and transgender people in South Asia suffer from discrimination in many aspects of their day to day lives. This makes them more vulnerable to HIV and undermines their capacity to contribute fully to their communities and societies," said Jeffrey O'Malley, Global Director of UNDP's HIV Group.
"This grant reflects the commitment of the international community to support the health and human rights of all people, even the most
marginalized,"he added.
Most recent data for South Asia suggests that between six percent and 10 percent of men have had sex with other men, and up to 90 percent of men who had sex with other men in the last year are at great risk of HIV infection and transmission.