Young Peoples and Human Rights Ghana

U.S. HIV/Aids Funding Agency May Force Nation to Mainstream Gay, Lesbian Rights  Henry Neondo May 25, 2011 Nairobi Star   New funding policy guidelines issued on Saturday by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) could force countries like Kenya who are strongly opposed to men having sex with men to backtrack.   On Saturday in the US, PEPFAR, a major contributor of funds to fight HIV/Aids in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya is the leading recipient of its funding at $510 million - Sh43.4 billion - every year) released a new Technical Guidance on Combination HIV Prevention for men who have sex with men (MSM) designed to be used by Country Missions. The guidelines call measures to be put in place to address human rights, legal barriers and homophobia in HIV response for MSM.   The PEPFAR MSM guidance comes at a time when MSM in low and middle-income countries are on average 19 times more likely to be infected with HIV than the general population.