Study for Aids among transgenders launch

The first South African study to look at HIV prevalence in transgender women was launched in East London yesterday.

The study by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) will lead the first South African integrated biological and behavioural survey on HIV in transgender women.

It was initiated and supported by the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention with funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief and would be supported by various South African and international academic and civil society partners.

This study will be conducted in the Cape Town, Johannesburg, and the Buffalo City Metro in the Eastern Cape later this month.

Global statistics show that transgender women are nearly 49 times more likely to be infected with HIV than other adults of reproductive age.

Despite this, there is currently very little information in South Africa about the specific HIV vulnerabilities of transgender women. HIV prevalence among them also remains undocumented. HSRC’s deputy chief executive for research, Leickness Simbayi, said they hope to contribute towards a deeper understanding of how HIV is affecting the transgender women in South Africa.

“They have often been neglected. This study is an important step in ensuring that they have a voice – both in terms of how HIV affects them and what can be done to help them.”