Who we are - Bridging the Gaps

Our mission

Bridging the Gaps works towards achieving universal access to HIV/STI prevention, treatment, care and support for sex workers, people who use drugs and LGBT people – including those living with HIV – in order to contribute to the end of the AIDS epidemic among key populations.

Key populations

Sex workers, people who use drugs, LGBT people and their sexual partners account for 47 per cent of new HIV infections worldwide. Bridging the Gaps’ work is based on the premise that we can only stop the spread of HIV and its impact by focusing on the groups most affected. Read more

Key populations

Sex workers, people who use drugs, LGBT people and their sexual partners account for 47 per cent of new HIV infections worldwide. Bridging the Gaps’ work is based on the premise that we can only stop the spread of HIV and its impact by focusing on the groups most affected. Read more

Our approach

With key populations in the driver’s seat, Bridging the Gaps is working towards the end of the AIDS epidemic among these communities. We link human rights and health, we link key populations to each other, and we link local work to global advocacy.

The Bridging the Gaps Alliance

Bridging the Gaps is an initiative of nine international organisations and networks and more than 80 local and regional organisations in fifteen countries across three regions.

Our approach is guided by three key principles:

We link human rights and health. We advocate for the realisation of key populations’ human rights and their access to welcoming, quality HIV prevention, treatment and care services.
We link key populations. We facilitate the sharing of strategies, best practices and advocacy tools.
We link community work to global advocacy. By linking local advocates to global processes, Bridging the Gaps works towards change on multiple levels. In-country experiences fuel global advocacy, and international instruments are used for national advocacy.

In our approach, key populations are in the driver’s seat, as the most effective HIV programming involves key populations on all levels of decision-making, from implementation to governance. The challenges that different key populations face are often the same – as are several of the solutions. Some challenges, such as criminalisation and punitive laws, policies and practices, are faced by all key populations. That is why we believe partnering and collaboration across key populations are highly effective in the HIV response.

Our future focus

To end the AIDS epidemic among key populations, we continue to involve them in the HIV response. Only by relentlessly investing in and focusing on sex workers, people who use drugs and LGBT people can we stop new HIV infections.

Bridging the Gaps builds its work on the outcomes of the 2018 International AIDS Conference for 2019 and beyond: a sharper focus on ensuring sufficient financial means for key populations and the HIV response; building evidence of the effectiveness of our approach; advocating for community-led initiatives and the meaningful involvement of communities.

Our future focus

To end the AIDS epidemic among key populations, we continue to involve them in the HIV response. Only by relentlessly investing in and focusing on sex workers, people who use drugs and LGBT people can we stop new HIV infections.

Bridging the Gaps builds its work on the outcomes of the 2018 International AIDS Conference for 2019 and beyond: a sharper focus on ensuring sufficient financial means for key populations and the HIV response; building evidence of the effectiveness of our approach; advocating for community-led initiatives and the meaningful involvement of communities.