Stigma was identified early on as a driver of the HIV pandemic and potentially the most difficult aspect to address, and its elimination remains a key UNAIDS pillar to controlling the epidemic.

For cisgender men who have sex with men (cisMSM) and transgender women, both HIV-related stigma as well as sexual behavior stigma are driven by negative societal perceptions of same sex practices. Overall, stigma limits sexual and gender minorities’ engagement in HIV prevention, care and treatment services.1–5 Moreover, stigma appears to be associated with higher numbers of sexual partners, limited condom and condom-compatible lubricant use and partner concurrency.

Despite the documented experience of stigma and its impact on HIV risk and service uptake among key populations across sub-Saharan Africa, including among cisMSM and transgender women, there remains relatively limited evidence on effective stigma mitigation approaches for these populations.