Our work

GMFA develops a wide range of health promotion, including web and print advertising campaigns, booklets, websites, community building events, a magazine and groupwork.

GMFA believes that all gay men are equally entitled to have all their health promotion needs met. However, HIV infection is not equally distributed among all gay men. We therefore prioritise men who are most likely to be involved in HIV exposure during sex. We do this in order to reduce the health inequalities amongst different groups of gay men.

The groups which research informs us have higher unmet needs are: men with HIV; men under 35 (the average age at which men are diagnosed with HIV is 35); Black gay men; men with larger numbers of sexual partners; men with lower rather than higher levels of education; recreational drug users.

This doesn’t mean that GMFA ignores the needs of men who are not in these groups, but rather we attempt to develop interventions that are appropriate for all men, but with a bias towards these groups.

We also prioritise interventions that meet the health needs of large numbers of men. We do this in order to have the maximum impact on HIV transmission.

The development of all interventions follows a consistent and robust process:

Before any project is developed, the volunteers and Project Managers set out the scope of the project in terms of its aims, objectives, target group, and setting, and estimate the necessary resources.
The Chief Executive will assess and where suitable, approve this intervention description to ensure that the project meets GMFA’s values, and that the project is well designed.
The intervention description is circulated to colleagues within the HIV sector to gain feedback.
Volunteers and Project Managers work together to develop the intervention.
The project is piloted with gay men and further feedback is sought from colleagues within the HIV sector.
The final draft of the intervention, together with the piloting results and HIV-sector feedback, is reviewed by the Chief Executive to ensure that the project meets the intended aims and objectives.
The intervention must receive the Chief Executive’s approval before it is launched.