Written by: Jack Beck, Lily May Catanes, Pato Hebert, Goldie Negelev and George Ayala
Abstract: Gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are at significantly greater risk for HIV than the general population in many low- and middle-income countries. In most parts of the world, civil society organisations are at the front lines of the fight against HIV among MSM, often with little or no support from local governments. Despite their central role in addressing this public health crisis, many of these organisations lack crucial information, funding, and connections with high-level partners that are essential to an effective response. To respond to these challenges, the Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF) has developed MSMGF.org, an online platform designed to strengthen the civil society response to HIV among MSM by increasing grassroots access to timely research, reports and opportunities, while simultaneously building networks among community members and key decisionmakers. Using a unique translation system to offer full access in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish, this innovative platform now has more than 3,000 members from over 140 countries. Evaluation results indicate that MSMGF.org has enhanced local advocacy efforts and programmes to provide HIV prevention, care, and treatment for MSM in low- and middle-income countries. We argue that this platform represents a powerful approach to advocacy and capacity building, leveraging networked and digital communication and collaboration to provide civil society organisations with rapid access to valuable knowledge, resources and support to improve the health and human rights of MSM, particularly in hostile contexts.
Keywords: access, capacity building, civil society, communication, collaboration, digital, information exchange, HIV, MSM, online, networking