HIV PREVENTION PROGRAMME
For men who have sex with men (MSM)
Beyond Zero recognises the need for healthcare facilities that are sensitive to and informed about the rights and needs of men who have sex with men (MSM) to discreet, safe, accessible, quality, confidential and non-discriminatory healthcare by qualified professionals.
Me1st is a campaign targeted at MSM, a key at-risk population. Me1st provides access to information and free healthcare that is discreet, confidential, free of discrimination and administered by qualified professionals. Beyond Zero recognises the need for healthcare facilities that are sensitive to, and informed about, the needs of MSM for the provision of the defined package of services. South African MSM face genuine difficulties in accessing healthcare which can jeopardise their physical and mental health if not available. Me1st puts the wellbeing of MSM above everything else, thus ensuring that individuals live their truth on their terms.
Combining three key intervention types, our approach to HIV prevention integrates behavioural, biomedical, and structural measures into a unified strategy:
Behavioural Interventions: Promoting safe behaviours through educational, motivational, peer education, and skills-building interventions at both individual and social levels, focusing on knowledge, attitudes, skills, and beliefs.
Biomedical Interventions: Employing measures to block or reduce HIV infectiousness and susceptibility, including the provision of condoms, lubricants, sexual and reproductive health services, antiretroviral therapy (ART), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and HIV testing and counselling.
Structural Interventions: Creating an enabling environment by addressing political, economic, and sociocultural factors that drive vulnerability to HIV infection. This involves scaling community empowerment programmes proven to reduce stigma, discrimination, and marginalisation, even within healthcare settings.
Interventions outlined above are implemented by sub-recipient (SR) partners appointed per district and capacitated to implement the intervention by Beyond Zero. The following operational areas and SRs apply for MSM module:
| Province | District | SR |
| Eastern Cape | Oliver Tambo | SHE |
| Free State | Mangaung | FS Rainbow Seeds |
| KwaZulu Natal | eThekwini | Lesbian and Gay Community Health Centre |
| King Cetshwayo | Lesbian and Gay Community Health Centre | |
| Limpopo | Capricorn | ANOVA Health |
| Mopane | IHPS | |
| Mpumalanga | Gert Sibande | ANOVA Health |
| North West | Bojanala Platinum | IHPS |
In a nutshell, MSM SRs identify key populations, reach key populations with a defined package of services that include risk reduction counselling, gender-based screening and awareness, TB and STI screening, sexual and reproductive information, commodity distribution and HIV testing services. HIV negative clientele are continuously re-engaged on regular HIV testing, enrolled on Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as appropriate and offered combination prevention. HIV positive clientele are channeled to care and treatment facilities where they are initiated on ART and supported to stay on treatment and achieve viral suppression. Comprehensive M&E systems are in place for monitoring and reporting of all activities elaborated here.
