This report describes the process and outcomes of a national meeting on Sex work, HIV and Access to Health Services that took place in Windhoek on 2-3 November 2011. The meeting, which was co-hosted by UNFPA, UNAIDS, SFH (Society for Family Health) and ASWA (African Sex Worker Alliance), was the culmination of a set of activities aimed at strengthening HIV programming with sex workers. The report concludes with the following recommendations and action points:
Recommendation 1: Ensure that programmes are comprehensive and that effective referral mechanisms exist to link different aspects of service provision.
Recommendation 2: Ensure that all service providers, including health care workers, civil society organisations and outreach workers, have received adequate training in relation to values and attitudes toward sex workers (including male and transgender sex workers).
Recommendation 3: Address violence, abuse and stigma toward sex workers.
Recommendation 4: Understand and address the ways in which the legal context affects sex workers and their safety.
Recommendation 5: Strengthen the capacity of emerging sex worker organisations to play an active role in the response to HIV and AIDS.
