Sustainability of services for the transgender community in an emergency

We are used to HIV prevention, but today we must deal with HIV + COVID-19. Today, we are talking to all beneficiaries about the importance of hygiene.
Kamran Rzayev
Chairman of the NGO “Gender and Development”

Problem

It is estimated that there are 8,100 PLHIV in Azerbaijan, 6,804 of which were registered with the HIV service at the beginning of 2020. The HIV epidemic in Azerbaijan is concentrated among key populations, with the most significant epidemic process among IDUs and MSM. The transgender (TG) community is becoming more visible in Azerbaijan. Studies in 2018 showed a high involvement of TG in sex work and increased sexual risks, for example, 74.3% provide sexual services for a fee with an average number of partners of 360 per year. 5.7% of respondents reported HIV-positive status. TG programs are already being implemented under the current grant funded by the Global Fund. By December 2019, 797 TG services were provided in the city of Baku; plan for 2020 is 950. The “regular” package of services includes counseling, distribution of condoms (260 per person per year), lubricants (40 per person / year); IOM available upon request. But during quarantine, the issue of service sustainability was especially acute.

Solution

The NGO ‘Gender and Development’ decided to continue providing services, adapting the format according to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. The focus was on HIV + COVID-19 prevention.

Result

During the epidemic, the Gender and Development team continued to provide TG services, focusing on HIV + COVID-19 prevention.

In addition to safety consultations, this is what employees did:

  • ARV medications delivery for HIV-positive members of the TG community;
  • fundraising for poor beneficiaries to deter them from the risks of sex work;
  • distribution of condoms and lubricants for home delivery;
  • distribution of condoms and lubricants at limited hours in the NGO office in compliance with all safety measures – masks, gloves, etc .;
  • distant consultations of the psychologist by phone.

The work is ongoing and is aimed not only at preventing HIV infection, but also at preventing coronavirus among representatives of the TG community. In particular, in a pandemic, employees recommended TG to suspend sex work because of the risks of coronavirus infection.

For 1.5 months of quarantine, more than 250 TGs received services.