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Men Who Have Sex with Men in Kampala, Uganda: Results from a Bio-Behavioral Respondent Driven Sampling Survey

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Abstract

We report on the results of a respondent-driven sampling survey among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Kampala, Uganda, where same-sex behavior is criminalized and highly stigmatized. We enrolled 608 MSM aged 18 + years and residing in greater Kampala from June 2012-November 2013. Anonymous data were collected through audio-computer assisted self-interviews; blood was tested for HIV-1 antibodies, CD4 + T cell counts, and viral load. Estimated HIV prevalence was 12.2 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 8.0–16.1), increasing with age. One in five (19.6 %) stated knowing their HIV-positive status and a similar proportion of HIV-infected MSM were virally suppressed (19.3 %; 95 % CI 3.3–33.1). HIV-related risk behaviors included unprotected anal sex (35.8 % at last sex act), selling sex (38.5 %), having multiple steady (54.3 %) or casual (63.6 %) partners, and ever injecting drugs (31.6 %). Forty percent experienced homophobic abuse; 44.5 % ever experienced suicide ideation. HIV prevalence among MSM remains high whereas knowledge of seropositive status and suppression of viral load remains low. MSM report a wide range of high risk behaviors, frequent homophobic abuse, poor mental health, as well as low levels of testing and treatment. Better access to tailored prevention and treatment services to improve population-level viral load suppression are warranted.

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Acknowledgments

As in our first survey, we appreciate the courage of the survey participants to take part and the survey staff’s commitment to their work.

Author Contribution

All authors substantially contributed to the study’s design conduct or to data analysis and interpretation wrote or edited parts of the manuscript and approved the final version for publication

Funding

This study was funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the terms of cooperative agreement 5U2GPS000971.

Disclaimer

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Global HIV and TB, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, USA

    Wolfgang Hladik, Mark Berry & Avi Hakim

  2. School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Enos Sande & Joy Kusiima

  3. Spectrum Uganda Initiative Incorporated, Kampala, Uganda

    Samuel Ganafa

  4. Division of Global HIV and TB, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Kampala, Uganda

    Herbert Kiyingi

Authors
  1. Wolfgang Hladik
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  2. Enos Sande
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  3. Mark Berry
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  4. Samuel Ganafa
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  5. Herbert Kiyingi
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  6. Joy Kusiima
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  7. Avi Hakim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wolfgang Hladik.

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Conflict of interest

All authors have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Verbal informed consent was obtained verbally and separately for interview, blood draw and testing, as well as storage of specimens for future testing.

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Hladik, W., Sande, E., Berry, M. et al. Men Who Have Sex with Men in Kampala, Uganda: Results from a Bio-Behavioral Respondent Driven Sampling Survey. AIDS Behav 21, 1478–1490 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1535-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1535-2

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