Reproductive health needs of female sex workers and opportunities for enhanced prevention of mother-to-child transmission efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.

Introduction: HIV infection and pregnancy are both common among female sex workers (FSW), indicating the need for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) among FSW.

Methods: FSW were enrolled into studies in Swaziland, Burkina Faso and Togo using respondent-driven sampling. Women completed interview-administered socio-behavioural surveys and HIV counselling and testing.

Correlates of condom use among female sex workers in The Gambia: results of a cross-sectional survey.

Objectives. This study examined correlates of condom use among 248 female sex workers (FSW) in The Gambia. Methods.

Influence of stigma and homophobia on mental health and on the uptake of HIV/sexually transmissible infection services for Cameroonian men who have sex with men.

Unlabelled: Background Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Cameroon consistently face significant stigma and discrimination. The urban HIV prevalence in MSM is estimated at 35%. This study investigates the effect of stigma, discrimination and alienation on Cameroonian MSM's engagement of the HIV treatment cascade.

Access to HIV Services at Non-Governmental and Community-Based Organizations among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in Cameroon: An Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance Analysis.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are more likely to be living with HIV than other adult men in low- and middle-income countries. MSM experience barriers to accessing HIV services including a lack of available specialized care, and community-level stigma and discrimination. This study aims to examine the uptake of HIV services at non-governmental and community-based organizations (NGOs/CBOs) to identify ways to improve coverage of HIV prevention and treatment among MSM.

Sexual violence against female sex workers in The Gambia: a cross-sectional examination of the associations between victimization and reproductive, sexual and mental health.

Background: Female sex workers (FSW) are a vulnerable population for sexual violence and poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Sexual violence against FSW has not been widely studied in The Gambia. This study will report the prevalence of and evaluate the health issues correlated with forced sex perpetrated by clients against FSW in The Gambia, and will secondly aim to inform future research and efforts to improve health outcomes for survivors of violence.

An urgent need for integration of family planning services into HIV care: the high burden of unplanned pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, and limited contraception use among female sex workers in Côte d'Ivoire.

Background: HIV infection and unintended pregnancy are occupational risks of commercial female sex work (FSW). The burden of unintended pregnancy among FSW including maternal and infant outcomes in the context of HIV is largely unknown.

Methods: FSW ≥18 years were recruited through respondent driven sampling into a cross-sectional study in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Violence against female sex workers in Cameroon: accounts of violence, harm reduction, and potential solutions.

Background: Female sex workers (FSWs) in Cameroon, and West Africa generally, suffer a disproportionate burden of HIV. Although violence against FSWs has been documented extensively in other parts of the world, data on violence from West African countries are lacking. The aim of this study was to qualitatively document violence and harm reduction strategies from the perspective of FSWs in Cameroon as well as to understand how experiences of violence may increase FSWs' HIV risk.

Antiretroviral treatment coverage for men who have sex with men and female sex workers living with HIV in Cameroon.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSW) are more likely to be living with HIV and experience difficulty accessing HIV health services due to stigma and discrimination. Antiretroviral treatment and sustained viral suppression among individuals living with HIV is the last step in the continuum of HIV care, which has been shown to improve health outcomes and decrease the risk of onward transmission of HIV.

Methods: To calculate the numerator and denominator for antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage estimates among MSM and FSW living with HIV, the Priority Locations for AIDS Control Efforts methods were modified to include individual quantitative interviews, health service assessment and mapping, and size estimation in 7 cities in Cameroon.

Sexual violence, condom negotiation, and condom use in the context of sex work: results from two West African countries.

Background: Female sex workers (FSWs) are vulnerable to violence within and beyond the workplace. Violence is associated with increased burden of HIV, possibly explained through physiologic or behavioral causal pathways. These analyses sought to determine the relationship between lifetime sexual violence with unprotected, condomless vaginal intercourse (UVI) among FSWs in West Africa.

Structural determinants of health among women who started selling sex as minors in Burkina Faso.

Objectives: To explore the prevalence of and factors associated with initiation of selling sex as a minor.

Design: Data were drawn from cross-sectional studies of adult female sex workers (FSW) recruited through respondent-driven sampling in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

Methods: FSW completed a questionnaire that included a retrospective question regarding the age at which they started selling sex.

Mothers who sell sex: a potential paradigm for integrated HIV, sexual, and reproductive health interventions among women at high risk of HIV in Burkina Faso.

Background: Antenatal care is a point of entry into the health system for women across Africa and may facilitate the uptake of HIV services among female sex workers (FSWs). This study aimed to evaluate the determinants of motherhood among FSWs, their sexual risks, and their engagement in health care.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to July 2013 among FSWs in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

Correlates of prior HIV testing among men who have sex with men in Cameroon: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Regular HIV testing is vital for timely linkage to the HIV care continuum and ensuring the success of behavioral and biomedical interventions to prevent HIV acquisition. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a key population for HIV prevention, treatment, and care efforts globally. This study measures the factors associated with prior HIV testing among MSM in Cameroon.

Safer conception needs for HIV prevention among female sex workers in Burkina Faso and Togo.

Background: Reproductive health programming for female sex workers (FSW) may include contraceptive services but rarely addresses safer pregnancy planning.

Methods: Adult FSW were enrolled into a cross-sectional study across four sites in Burkina Faso and Togo using respondent-driven sampling. Sociobehavioral questionnaires and HIV counseling and testing were administered.

Enhancing benefits or increasing harms: community responses for HIV among men who have sex with men, transgender women, female sex workers, and people who inject drugs.

Studies completed over the past 15 years have consistently demonstrated the importance of community-level determinants in potentiating or mitigating risks for the acquisition and transmission of HIV. Structural determinants are especially important in mediating HIV risk among key populations, including men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers of all genders, and transgender women. The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the evidence characterizing the community-level determinants that potentiate or mitigate HIV-related outcomes for key populations.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of HIV prevalence among men in militaries in low income and middle income countries.

Objectives: To determine whether the current HIV prevalence in militaries of low-income and middle-income countries is higher, the same, or lower than the HIV prevalence in the adult male population of those countries.

Methods: HIV prevalence data from low-income and middle-income countries' military men were systematically reviewed during 2000-2012 from peer reviewed journals, clearing-house databases and the internet. Standardised data abstraction forms were used to collect information on HIV prevalence, military branch and sample size.

The epidemiology of HIV among men who have sex with men in countries with generalized HIV epidemics.

Purpose Of Review: Key populations at high risk for HIV acquisition and transmission, such as MSM, have long been identified as essential subpopulations for epidemiological surveillance of the HIV epidemic. However, surveillance systems in the context of generalized and widespread HIV epidemics have traditionally excluded these men.

Recent Findings: Emerging and consistent data highlight the disproportionate burden of HIV among MSM that exists when compared with other men of reproductive age across countries with generalized epidemics.

HIV prevalence and factors associated with HIV infection among men who have sex with men in Cameroon.

Introduction: Despite men who have sex with men (MSM) being a key population for HIV programming globally, HIV epidemiologic data on MSM in Central Africa are sparse. We measured HIV and syphilis prevalence and the factors associated with HIV infection among MSM in Cameroon.

Methods: Two hundred and seventy-two and 239 MSM aged ≥ 18 from Douala and Yaoundé, respectively, were recruited using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) for this cross-sectional surveillance study in 2011.

Epidemiology of HIV among female sex workers, their clients, men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs in West and Central Africa.

Introduction: The West and Central Africa (WCA) sub-region is the most populous region of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with an estimated population of 356 million living in 24 countries. The HIV epidemic in WCA appears to have distinct dynamics compared to the rest of SSA, being more concentrated among key populations such as female sex workers (FSWs), men who have sex with men (MSM), people who inject drugs (PWID) and clients of FSWs. To explore the epidemiology of HIV in the region, a systematic review of HIV literature among key populations in WCA was conducted since the onset of the HIV epidemic.