MSM care and support

Message from Family Health International, Thailand/Regional Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to share with you the final meeting report from the “Asia regional consultation on MSM care and support”. The report summarizes key policy and technical recommendations developed by participants related to each priority health sector intervention; guides the selection and prioritization of interventions for HIV treatment, care and support; and directs readers to key resources containing the best available information on the health sector response to HIV among MSM.

We are thankful to consultation participants for their excellent contributions to the meeting and draft report. We hope this report proves useful in further shaping and rolling out critical care and support services for MSM. Please contact us should you have any questions.

Warm regards.

[Posted by Paul Causey, MSM-Asia mailing list, 2010-08-04. Report available for downloading from the APCOM Resource Library, and also HERE.]

Announcement: technical officer at FHI

[Posted by Celine Daly on msm-asia Google Group, 29 September 2008]

Family Health International (FHI) is a U.S. based non-profit international public health organization dedicated to improving the health of populations in more than 70 countries worldwide through research, education and prevention services in family health. Our work includes public health HIV/AIDS prevention and care and clinical research on infectious diseases in 10 Asia/Pacific Countries including Thailand. The Asia/Pacific Regional Office (APRO) of FHI is seeking highly qualified and experienced individuals to join its team, based in Bangkok.

VACANCY
Technical Officer, Male Sexual Health (MSH)

The Technical Officer will provide technical assistant to FHI’s country and regional programs in Asia Pacific region in the area of male sexual health and ensure that FHI’s Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) outreach and service provision programs are technically sound and of high quality.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provides program and technical assistance to MSM projects in FHI country programs in the Asia Pacific region.
  
• Liaises and networks with international donors and senior level Ministry of Health and other government representatives in developing and implementing MSH programs or influencing of such programs.
  
• Ensures that high quality of HIV communications interventions and research in FHI programs are of international standard and quality of developing and implementing appropriate mechanisms to ensure quality of the interventions in collaboration with program staff and implementing partners.
  
• Collaborates with other APRO and FHI/USA technical staff in the development and implementation of guidelines, tools and recommendations related to HIV strategic behavioral among MSM
  
• Supports country offices through capacity building of FHI and other implementing agency staff who work in the area of male sexual health.

Qualifications:

• Thai National
  
• Master’s degree or equivalent in public health or related field
  
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in and working with NGOs, international and/or donor organizations in HIV/AIDS
  
• Has knowledge of HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, public health, or research health programs in developing countries
  
• Excellent written and spoken English

We offer a competitive compensation package.

Kindly send your resume and cover letter via email to: Human Resources Department at HR@fhibkk.org. We shall consider only applications via email address and only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Closing date for application is October 15, 2008.

FHI reports on IDU, SW, MSM in Vietnam

New reports from FHI on dialogues with injection drug users, sex workers, and men who have sex with men on their own behavior change for HIV prevention

Family Health International (FHI) is pleased to announce a series of three reports summarizing dialogues with three most-at-risk population groups in Vietnam - injection drug users, sex workers, and men who have sex with men - regarding their own behavior change for HIV prevention. The interviews were conducted by peer educators and the staff of HIV counseling and testing programs in four cities (Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho) - using open-ended discussion techniques.

The dialogues are part of an on-going quality assurance initiative of FHI to ensure that prevention interventions remain focused and targeted to the needs of the population groups that they serve. The interviews were not meant to be rigorous academic ethnographic or qualitative research but rather opportunities for outreach and other staff to hear from their beneficiaries regarding continuing barriers to behavior change. The results also complement existing quantitative data from surveillance and survey data by providing a better understanding of the underlying personal, social, and environmental reasons for these population groups' risk behaviors.

These dialogues and the resulting reports were supported with the technical assistance of FHI and the funding support of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

If you would like copies of any of these reports, please contact FHI at 04-934-8560 or by email: fhivn@fhi.org.vn. The Vietnamese version of these reports will be ready for distribution in late August.


Dinh Thi Minh Thu, MSc.
Senior Program Officer
Strategic Behavior Communication (SBC)
Family Health International (FHI)
Vietnam Country Office
3rd Floor, 1 Ba Trieu street
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: ++(844) 9348560 ext. 132
Cell phone: ++(84) 912 931493
Fax: ++(844) 9348650
Email: minhthu@fhi.org.vn