ABSTRACT
This article summarizes the epidemiology of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) in 27 central and eastern European countries. For each country, the summary includes general information about the extent of the HIV epidemic, particularly among MSM; a brief overview of recent HIV-related biobehavioral studies conducted in the MSM population; and information on the current stigmatization of MSM. Reports of deeply rooted stigmatization of MSM in almost all 27 countries point to it as a serious obstacle in this population's access to proper treatment and care for STIs, including HIV.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work for the report this article was based on was coordinated and supported by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, Communicable Diseases Unit. This report builds on, and has benefited greatly from, 27 national reports prepared by Roland Bani (Albania), Rafael Ohanyan (Armenia), Svetlana Brutskaya and Olga Zhdanovskaya (Belarus), Nataša Lončarevi (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Tsvetana Yakimova (Bulgaria), Ivana Bozicevic (Croatia), Constantinos N Phellas (Cyprus), Ivo Prochazka (Czech Republic), Ardi Ravalepik and Kristi Rüütel (Estonia), Nino Tsereteli (Georgia), Ágnes Csohán and Maria Dudas (Hungary), Anna Deryabina (Kazakhstan), Meerim Sarybaeva (Kyrgyzstan), Sandra Dudareva (Latvia), Milena Stevanović (Macedonia), Otilia Scutelniciuc (Moldova), Katarzyna Gajewska and Michał Minałto (Poland), Catalina Iliuta (Romania), Veronika Odinokova and Ksenia Kamenskaya (Russian Federation), Slad− ana Baroš (Serbia), Danica Stanekova (Slovakia), Aleš Lamut (Slovenia), Maruf Gadoev (Tajikistan), Can Tuna Pekkara (Turkey), Zalina Rossoshanskaya (Turkmenistan), Zoryan Kis (Ukraine), and Kamila Fatihova (Uzbekistan).