Discrimination and a lack of HIV services in developing countries has been highlighted as reasons for an alarming rise in the rate of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men at the International AIDS Conference taking place in Sydney this week. Studies have found that infection rates are growing among men who have sex with men in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and less than 5% of those men have access to HIV-related health care, according to a statistics released by the American Foundation for AIDS Research. "It is estimated that one in 20 men who have sex with men have access to appropriate HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services," Kevin Frost, the Foundation's chief executive officer, told reporters. "This is a massive failure of the HIV/AIDS response globally and I think one that needs to be addressed." Statistics show the rate of infection with HIV — the virus that causes AIDS —among men who have sex with men growing exponentially in parts of the developing world. In Kenya, around 40% are estimated to be HIV positive, compared to a 6% prevalence in the overall population. In Senegal nearly 22% are thought to be infected, compared to 0.9% of the general population. In Uruguay and Mexico, 21% and 15% are estimated to have the disease. "The frightening truth is that, in many parts of the world, we simply do not know how bad the epidemics (are) among men who have sex with men,” Dr. Chris Breyer, director of the Johns Hopkins Fogarty AIDS program, said in a statement. "Transmission ... is still not tracked in most countries." Under a new initiative launched at the Conference, the American Foundation for AIDS Research will seek to raise US$300 million over the next three years to provide grants for AIDS education and research among men who have sex with men in developing countries. The New Zealand AIDS Foundation's Team Co-ordinator of Gay Men's Health, Douglas Jenkin, says gay and bisexual men are fortune to live in New Zealand. “Due to many years of community activism, their sexual orientation is not criminalised, HIV is recognised by government and authorities as a serious health issue, and data collection on rates of HIV infection among men who have sex with men is able to be accurately collected and comprehensively analysed,” he says. “In New Zealand, successive governments since 1985 have continued to be supportive of NZAF, allowing us to continue working to prevent the spread of HIV and provide care of support for those living with the virus.” The IAS Conference has highlighted the extent to which the needs of gay and bisexual men are ignored or actively suppressed in some countries, leading to an explosion in rates of HIV,” Jenkin observes. “We need to make sure our communities continue to be empowered to keep the HIV epidemic among gay and bisexual men in New Zealand, which has been rising in recent years, under control.” Ref: 365gay.com, NZAF (m)