On conducting sexualities research in Africa

Abstract

Over the past decade, gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) have become a key concern in the fight against AIDS, not only in high-income Western countries but also in low- and middle-income countries where same-sex sexual transmission of HIV had rarely—if ever—been considered. My work examines how MSM emerged as a global HIV prevention priority at the transnational health policy giant UNAIDS, how this new global priority diffused to national governments around the world and what happens when global prevention priorities targeting MSM collide with local contexts and people.