AIDS2018: e-Health Innovations for MSM & Trans People

AIDS2018 Session Outline
e-Health Innovations for MSM & Trans People

Location: Positive Action Meeting Room (2nd floor, Global Village)
Time & Date: Tuesday 24th July, 12.30-2pm

Contributors
Tarandeep Anand (Founder & Director, Adam’s Love)
Marija Pantelic (Senior Advisor: Research & Evaluation, International HIV/AIDS Alliance)
Inad Rendom (Programmes, Advocacy & Campaigns, APCOM)
Other from trans-led charity.

Concept
ViiV Healthcare is a global specialist HIV pharmaceutical company. Our Positive Action Programme for MSM & Transgender People aims to improve sexual health & wellbeing and advance social and economic justice for men who have sex with men and transgender people in resource-limited and hostile settings by directly funding community-based organisations (CBOs).

As the United Nations Population Fund (2015) describes, information and communications technology (ICT) often prove important for MSM and transgender people in terms of their sexual health and wellbeing. They allow for connections to be made (anonymously if need be) with community outreach workers and peer navigators, health-service providers and counsellors, provide greater access to information and education materials and links into the continuum of care, and can improve outreach to those considered ‘unreachable’ through traditional physical community outreach methods.

Numerous technology-based interventions are now used across the HIV response but a limited focus has been given to the patterns of technology use in resource-limited settings for the LGBT community and assessments of which LGBT-specific e-health interventions are most effective. Many of the proposals Positive Action for MSM & Transgender People receive request funding to design apps and other tools from scratch, rather than integrating or building on existing tools.

This session seeks to assess these key gaps. Moreover, it aims to provide practical tips to community groups, service providers and others, as to how they can include technology in their programming – repurposing rather than reinventing wherever possible.

This session begins by showcasing interim data from a landscape analysis being undertaken by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, which is assessing current and future use of technology by LGBT people related to sexual health and wellbeing in resource-limited settings. So as to further add practical value to community organisations, it will then showcase leading examples of sexual health e-tools, including new developments by the M-Coalition in the Middle East and Adam’s Love in South-East Asia.



Summary of Aims
1.    To inform attendees of the current and future trends of technology use as it relates to HIV, sexual health & wellbeing, and human rights programming for MSM & trans people in resource-limited & hostile settings

2.    To showcase replicable best practices & provide a forum for informal & informative dialogue in order to better understand them

3.    To advocate for the use, repurposing or development of existing tools, rather than designing apps or other e-health tools from scratch unnecessarily – and, where new tools are developed, to increase comprehensive consideration of unmet needs & the importance of clear aims and measures

Target Audience
•    LGBT-focused CBOs, particularly those from resource-limited & hostile settings
•    Service providers who work with the LGBT community, particularly those from resource-limited & hostile settings
•    Those with a specialism in e-health innovations