We are pleased to announce an expansion in the activities of the MOBILISE! project that will help to ensure that HIV-positive men have a place at the table and that the contributions they can make to HIV prevention are taken into account.

This additional component to the project will allow us to make a specific effort to recruit HIV-positive individuals who are interested in becoming community team leaders. They will receive the same training as all other team leaders in order to recruit participants and conduct community discussions about prevention and sexual health. They will also be invited to participate in planning activities and public events in order to contribute to the development of the project and to advocacy efforts aimed at fostering change and raising awareness. At no time will there be any expectation or requirement that they disclose their HIV status in public or to other project participants. All leaders who volunteer their time to participate in MOBILISE! will receive financial compensation as well as training on prevention strategies and on how to facilitate a community team.

People living with HIV have the potential to play a leadership role and make a significant contribution to the development of effective combination prevention strategies. Many HIV-positive gay men have a great deal of experience in managing the risks of transmission in addition to being very familiar with the use of pharmaceuticals as prevention tools: achieving undetectable viral load (treatment as prevention), familiarity with post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and taking medication on a regular basis as prescribed (a requirement for PrEP, pre-exposure prophylaxis) are some examples.

HIV-positive team leaders will be free to decide to what extent they wish to include participants who are HIV-positive, HIV-negative, or a mix of the two in the community teams they facilitate. Recruitment will begin shortly. For more information or to indicate your interest in participating, please contact Patrice Bécotte (patrice@rezosante.org) or Thomas Haig (thomas.haig@cocqsida.com).

These additional activities have been made possible through a community grant from the Positive Action Canada Innovation Program provided by ViiV Healthcare.