Military/Uniformed Services

The armed forces, police and other uniformed services around the world face a serious risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and can serve as a core transmission group for these infections to the general population.  

HIV prevalence rates among the uniformed services are significantly higher than among the general population.  To understand why one must consider the circumstances of those who serve in uniform. Often they are posted or required to travel for extended periods away from home, or must await proper housing before sending for their families.  

Confronting risk daily inspires other risky behaviors, and the sense of invincibility the services promote sometimes carries over into personal behavior. These groups also tend to have more frequent contact with sex workers.

 

The hierarchical structures of the uniformed services permit sustainable integration of HIV/AIDS/STI/Tuberculosis (TB) prevention and care into the systems they already have in place. To reach this goal, a Task Force on Uniformed Services evolved under the guidance of USAID.

 

Coordinated by FHI, this task force is composed of  representatives of USAID, DOD Life Initiative, Naval Health Research Center, Civil-Military Alliance, The Futures Group International, and UNAIDS.  Its role is to build on the networks of participating organizations to develop tools to support the integration of HIV/AIDS into existing systems and structures of the uniformed services.