The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Advisory Council on AIDS:

     The Hong Kong Advisory Council on AIDS (ACA) and the Hong Kong Society for HIV Medicine jointly organised an interdisciplinary forum on chemsex (the Chemsex Forum) today (May 11), during which experts and representatives from the healthcare, welfare and academic sectors convened to discuss the international public health concern about chemsex from diverse perspectives in an effort to further explore how to pool their resources and expertise to provide more appropriate services for people concerned.

     The ACA has been closely monitoring local and international trends and development relating to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and relevant high risk behaviours. In its meeting held in February this year, the ACA reviewed the latest landscape of chemsex (the behaviour of using certain psychotropic substances by men who have sex with men (MSM) in a sexualised context is known as chemsex internationally), as well as its impact on local HIV control efforts. According to the data analysis of the "HIV Prevalence and Risk behavioural Survey of Men who have sex with men and Transgenders" conducted by the Department of Health (DH) in 2022, nearly 10 per cent of MSM in Hong Kong had participated in chemsex in the past six months, which was comparable with a similar survey in 2017. The survey also revealed that the ratio of using injections among MSM who have participated in chemsex increased to 22 per cent comparing with 7 per cent in 2017, which warrants attention. As one of the responses by the ACA to address the latest situation of chemsex, the Chemsex Forum aims to foster collaboration and focus the power of caring and inclusivity with the objective of whole-person health by connecting pertinent stakeholders and creating an effective and thematic interdisciplinary platform for experts from different realms.

     At the Chemsex Forum, various local and international speakers engaged in in-depth discussions pertaining to the unique needs of chemsex users, including the evolving trend of chemsex in Hong Kong, people-centred integrated services, motivational interviewing techniques, psychological, cognitive and behavioural aspects of chemsex users, as well as overseas experience sharing. The definition of chemsex was also discussed to facilitate future analyses and research. Furthermore, the interactive open forum session facilitated the discussion among participants from diverse fields, with the aim to strengthen collaboration in building positive attitudes from different social aspects and creating an inclusive and accepting environment, as well as to provide tailored support services to cater for the diverse needs of chemsex users and facilitate access to related services for those who need them.

     The ACA expressed sincere gratitude to the the Hong Kong Society for HIV Medicine for jointly organising the Chemsex Forum, and more than 170 stakeholders from different sectors who attended the Forum for making it a great success.

     Since its establishment in 1990, the ACA has played a pivotal role in advising the Government on policy relating to the prevention, care and control of HIV infection and AIDS in Hong Kong. The ACA has published six sets of recommended HIV/AIDS strategies which have served as blueprints for the AIDS response in Hong Kong.

     ​For more information on the previous and latest recommended HIV/AIDS strategies published by the ACA, please visit the ACA website (www.aca.gov.hk/english/index.html). For information about the local situation and programme on AIDS, please visit the website of the Virtual AIDS Office of the DH (www.aids.gov.hk).

Ends/Saturday, May 11, 2024
Issued at HKT 15:40

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