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Gay and Bisexual Men in Kampala, Uganda

AIDS and Behavior volume 12, Article number: 492 (2008) Cite this article

Abstract

HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects gay and bisexual men around the world; however, little is known about this population in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a respondent-driven sampling survey of gay and bisexual men in Kampala, Uganda (N = 224). Overall, 61% reported themselves as “gay” and 39% as “bisexual”. Gay and bisexual men were 92% Ugandan; 37% had unprotected receptive anal sex in the last six months, 27% were paid for sex, 18% paid for sex, 11% had history of urethral discharge. Perception that gay and bisexual men are at risk for HIV infection was low. Gay and bisexual men in Kampala are overwhelmingly Ugandan nationals from all parts of society. Recognition of gay and bisexual men in local HIV prevention programs and education messages are urgently needed. Our study demonstrates that gay and bisexual men in Uganda are willing to identify themselves and participate in research.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the institutional support of Department of Medicine, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda and funding provided by the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, USA though grants P30 MH062246-0681, MH064712, and D43TW000003 from the National Institutes of Health. This study would not have been possible without the approval and guidance of the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology, Makerere University Internal Review Board, and the University of California Committee for Human Research. We thank our field staff for their conscientious and non-judgmental efforts. Finally, we appreciate the courage of the participants in sharing their personal stories.

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Affiliations

  1. Institute for Global Health, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Phoebe Kajubi, George W. Rutherford, Jeffrey S. Mandel & Willi McFarland

  2. Department of Medicine, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Moses R. Kamya

  3. HIV Epidemiology Section, San Francisco Department of Public Health, 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 500, San Francisco, CA, 94102-6033, USA

    H. Fisher Raymond, Sanny Chen & Willi McFarland

Authors
  1. Phoebe Kajubi
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  2. Moses R. Kamya
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  3. H. Fisher Raymond
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  4. Sanny Chen
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  5. George W. Rutherford
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  6. Jeffrey S. Mandel
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  7. Willi McFarland
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Willi McFarland.

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Kajubi, P., Kamya, M.R., Raymond, H.F. et al. Gay and Bisexual Men in Kampala, Uganda. AIDS Behav 12, 492 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-007-9323-7

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Keywords

  • Men who have sex with men
  • Uganda
  • Africa
  • HIV
  • Risk behavior