Title

Men and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: Men as healthcare providers, peers in service delivery and patients

Code

SA37

Session Type

Satellite

Track

Not applicable

Channel

Channel 3

Date Time

19 July 17:00- 18:00

Local Date Time

17:00 - 18:00 W. Europe Daylight Time

Organizer:

The IAS – International AIDS Society

In the past five years, considerable progress has been made towards reaching the 90-90-90 targets for men in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020. Data from eastern and southern Africa highlights this progress – from 74-64-86 in 2015 to 84-77-90 in 2019. However, significant gaps exist to reaching the targets and to close disparities with women where from 2015 to 2019 progress improved from 83-71-87 to 91-86-91. In order to reach the men left behind, challenges must be addressed and successful programmes taken to scale. In this satellite, key stakeholders from ministries of health, civil society, communities, funders, implementers and researchers will come together to both show progress towards improving HIV services for men over the past five years as well as highlighting the gaps that remain and how they could be addressed. The session is framed around men in their different roles and with intersecting identities, highlighting recent implementation data on engaging men in HIV services and amplifying their voices.

10 min	Men and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa – progress and possibilities Wole AMEYAN, World Health Organization, Switzerland

2 min	My journey to viral suppression - overcoming siloed care and fear of stigma Mcdaphton BELLOWS, Partners in Hope (PIH), Malawi

10 min	Ensuring men are not missed from health systems: Community- and facility-based HIV programming in Malawi Kelvin BALAKASI, Malawi

2 min	My journey to Yathu Yathu - Nkani ya ma guys Augustine CHANDA, Zambart, Zambia

10 min	What can we learn from a male-centred tuberculosis response? Results from the Eastern Cape, South Africa Andrew MEDINA-MARINO, South Africa

2 min	My journey to becoming a coach - a little empathy goes a long way Sfiso Joseph MAGAGULA, Community Media Trust, South Africa

7 min	Changing the narrative around men and HIV in South Africa – MINA, Coach Mpilo, B-OK bottles Rodney KNOTTS, USAID, South Africa

5 min	B-OK - You can be HIV safe - Animation explainer, Coach Mpilo

10 min	The path to person-centred care for men in sub-Saharan Africa Nelson OTWOMA, National Empowerment Network of PLHAs in Kenya (NEPHAK), Kenya

2 min	Closing video: Excerpt from "Yathu Yathu anthem"

AUTHOR

Elving Geng

SUMMARY

In both TB and HIV, men fare worse than women. Instead of seeing men as a problem, how can health systems see men as whole people, patients, peers, providers and problem solvers? Using a mix of technical and first-person presentations, speakers in this session describe how to do so.

HIGHLIGHTS

Kevin Balakasi from Malawi showed recent studies that men do actually visit facilities, yet HIV testing is rarely offered: in a sample of 1,112 men in Malawi, 82% visited a facility in the previous year yet only 25% were offered a HIV test. Andrew Median Marino from RSA pointed out that TB accounts for 43% of the disparities in life expectance between men and women among those living with HIV and a whopping 81% of the difference in those without HIV. Yet a recent review found none of the 129 strategies for adherence to TB medications were male centered, and few reported sex-disaggregated effects. Rodney Knots from USAID discussed a marketing campaign to reframe health journey for men in South Africa. Using research with over 2000 men, they overturn stereotypes: instead of stubborn, men are afraid; isolated and intimidated by health services. A program called MINA creates a new brand around the health journey and uses mHealth, media (eg magazines), social spaces, peer support to support a positive journey. Outstanding results with more than 95% persons approached fining it acceptable and > 95% retained in the program.

CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

Men are often blamed for worse health outcomes with negative stereotypes such as “men are stubborn.” Instead, ethnographic, social marketing as well as traditional methods have shown than systems for healthcare are alienating and unwelcoming to men, and that efforts to engage men through drawing from community wisdom, leveraging peer support, and in the physical spaces where men socialize, are critical. Through both technical as well as first-person narrative, this session highlighted the need to transform our view of men from a “problem” to who they are as people, parents, peers and partners as well as providers and problem solvers.