While majority of health care providers agree that men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people should receive the same level of attention and care, homophobia, misconceptions and value-driven stigma does impact the quality of care provided to them.

This is according to a formative assessment, the health ministry carried out with support from UNDP in 2014.

The assessment also found that health care providers lack experience and skills in dealing with and managing MSM and transgender clients.

Public health consultant, Dechen Wangmo, yesterday during a media engagement programme to strategise on sexual education and sexual health awareness, said that a significant number of healthcare providers haven’t received any training or orientation on HIV and male sexual health.

“So, it is left up to the individual providers to be nice or mean because there was no formal training,” she added. Read more via Kuensel