Impact of Providing HIV Medical and Prevention Services to Nigerian Men Who Sleep with Men (MSM) at a Trusted Community Center to Reduce HIV Infections by Engaging Networks of Friends and Partners to Support Safe Sex (TRUST study)

Project Dates: September 2012 – June 2020

Principal Investigators: William A. Blattner; Manhattan Charurat

Co-Investigators: Stefan Baral; Hongjie; Nicaise Ndembi; Gustavo Kijak; Erik Volz,; Monica Gandhi

Description: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of providing comprehensive and integrated prevention, treatment, and care at a community venue operated by local organization supportive of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Nigeria. The study will investigate the impact of promoting safe sexual behaviors on the reduction of HIV infections as well as the impact of treatment-as-prevention of HIV/AIDS. If the model is successful, it can be expanded to support PEPFAR goals for prevention, care and treatment for the marginalized populations who continue to be significant drivers of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The study will also investigate the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors for HIV and STIs among MSM in Nigeria and characterize the humoral and cellular responses to HIV infection amongst Nigerian MSM.

Partners: Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (IHV-UMB), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH), Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP), Department of Defense, Walter Reed Program, Nigeria (WRP), Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), International Centre for Advocacy for the Right to Health (ICARH), The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIER), Population Council (Pop Council)

Funding Source: This study is supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01MH099001-01).

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