CUBA: Cuban gay men fight HIV / AIDS

Cuban organization of homosexual men promotes sexual diversity and AIDS awareness, drawing in some of Cuba's most renowned artists. Cuban artists came together recently to support Cuba's homosexual community in their fight against HIV / AIDS and to promote awareness. The organization "Hombres Que Tienen Sexo Con Hombres-Cuba" (Men Who Have Sex With Men-Cuba) launched a campaign ahead of World AIDS Day to educate the public about homosexuality and measures to prevent the spread of HIV / AIDS. On Thursday (November 29) the group invited some of Cuba's most prestigious artists to attend a presentation of a video clip celebrating sexual diversity. The campaign also includes holding forums and handing out free condoms. "It was brought to the first level of the Cuban government, owing to the incidents of HIV of men who have sex with other men - we are coming together as a group of people who already had experience in commuity work in preventing HIV and who were homosexual to come up with a national strategy directed by the homosexual men," said Raul Regueiro, the coordinator of the Men Who Have Sex With Men-Cuba Project. Cuba has launched an aggressive campaign against HIV / AIDS since the first case was detected in the 1980s and has one of the lowest rates in Latin America. "This illness (HIV) has existed for some time, but we are conscious that it is so and that everyone in the world has the right to live their way, with their way of thinking and of being, which is respectable," said renowned Cuban singer, Omara Portuondo. According to official statistics, homosexual men represent 81 percent of the more than 9,000 Cubans infected with HIV.

ITN Source | December 2, 2007

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