Sharful Islam Khan

International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh | ICDDR,B

Introduction Transgender women (hijra) in Bangladesh are declared as a separate gender category by the Government. However, research revealed that they experience transphobia, which could potentially affect their physical and mental health outcomes, and their access to SRHR-related care. This warrants an exploration of their SRHR-related rights iss...

Background HIV testing coverage among males having sex with males (MSM) and transgender women (locally known as hijra) is low in Bangladesh. Oral fluid-based HIV self-testing (HIVST) may improve coverage due to its convenience and privacy but is yet to be tested in Bangladesh. Therefore, the acceptability and feasibility of supervised HIVST was exa...

Introduction Chemsex is defined as drug use to enhance sexual pleasure. Global literature illustrated the pervasiveness of chemsex among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women ( hijra ) for prolonging anal intercourse, reducing pain and intensifying pleasure, oftentimes without condoms. Global literature highlighted the association b...

Introduction In Bangladesh, sexually transmitted infection (STI) services are available for all populations in public health facilities. However, STI services for key populations (KPs) at risk of HIV need specifically designed approaches that are predominantly administered to KPs through donor-supported service centers operated by non-government or...

Introduction One of the contributors to tuberculosis (TB) burden among vulnerable populations, such as sexual minority people, is the delay in case finding and notification. Given their socially excluded, hard-to-reach nature, community-led approaches need to be introduced to facilitate their screening of TB symptoms and their subsequent referral t...

Background Key populations (KPs) who are at risk of compromised situation of sexual and reproductive health and rights in Bangladesh constitute including males having sex with males, male sex workers, transgender women (locally known as hijra) and female sex workers. Globally, these key populations experience various sexual and reproductive health...

Global and local literature depicted the pervasiveness of chemsex among men who have sex with men (MSM), yet there is limited evidence on adolescents and youth. Though literature showed their engagement in chemsex, further exploration is warranted about their socio-sexual contexts and implications. Therefore, this article explored the contexts and...

Background The HIV epidemic in Bangladesh is largely being driven by people who inject drugs (PWID) and mainly concentrated in Dhaka city. Intregrated biological and behavioural survey (IBBS) data of 2016 showed that a considerable percentage of the HIV positive PWID had unsafe sex with their female sex partners. Prevalence of HIV, risk behaviorus...

Background & Objectives: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most commonly acquired sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and a prominent source of morbidity and mortality. HPV has more than 170 genotypes including at least 17 high-risk HPV (HR-HPV); however, the licensed vaccines include only nine of them based on data from high-income count...

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic incurred numerous impediments on day-to-day emergency medical services including Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) for People Who Inject Drugs (PWID). To prevent treatment cessation and lost to follow-up, we tried to implement an alternate mitigating intervention like telemedicine. Methodology: This research was...

Introduction: Transgender women (TGW), Male Sex Workers (MSW) and Female Sex Workers (FSW) are disproportionately affected by Human papillomavirus (HPV), but the risk among these populations remains understudied, especially in low and middle-income countries. Methods: Between September 14 to November 30, 2022, anorectal-swabs (AS) from 484 TGW, 22...

Introduction: There is currently ample research and intervention initiatives addressing anal sex and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among gender and sexually diverse people (i.e., men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women). However, oral sex and oral STIs are not prioritized to the same extent, despite their concerning implicat...

Introduction: This paper examines the correlates of needle and syringe sharing among People Who Inject Drugs in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, which is currently experiencing a steep increase in HIV prevalence despite the ongoing presence of Needle Exchange Programs. Methodology: This was a retrospective chart review with cross-sectional design that ex...

In Bangladesh, antiretroviral therapy (ART) is provided without screening drug resistance-associated mutations (DRM) among people living with HIV, while DRM might emerge and transmit to the newly infected individual. The present study was aimed to identify DRM among ART-naive clients from an HIV testing and counseling (HTC) center in the initial st...

Background Besides HIV, people who inject drugs (PWID) experience other biomedical adversities, including injection-related injuries and infections. Yet, they are often inadequately addressed due to the prioritisation of HIV-related issues. This article explored the risk environment and socio-structural adversities of PWID living with injection-rel...

Background: A number of countries across Asia have instituted "drug wars", aimed at eradicating drug supply and consumption. These wars often employ strategies like arbitrary arrest and detention, increased surveillance, harassment and sometimes extrajudicial killings. However, these measures have not been shown to effectively eliminate drug suppl...

Coverage of HIV testing services (HTS) is generally low among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (hijra) in Bangladesh, thus impeding the national goal of attaining the 90-90-90 target. In this context, this article delineates HTS uptake barriers among these populations. This qualitative study entailed 30 in-depth interviews, six...

Objective: HIV-1 subtyping data of Bangladeshi strains are available in global HIV Sequence Database up to 2007, and there is no sequence of drug resistance profile based on the pol gene segment. This study aimed to update HIV genotyping data and describe the drug resistance mutations for the first time from Bangladesh using specimens from the late...

Methamphetamine use has increased among gender and sexually diverse people in several countries, including Bangladesh. This study aimed to explore the effects of methamphetamine on the sexual lives of these people in Dhaka, Bangladesh. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted, comprising 30 in-depth interviews with gender and sexually diverse...

Background Women who inject drugs (WWID) experience various complexities, risks and vulnerabilities attributed to unequal gendered power differentials. This article has aimed to explore the unequal gendered power dynamics that influence HIV risks and vulnerabilities among WWID in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods This paper is based on an ethnographic st...

Introduction: Although Bangladesh is a country of generalised tuberculosis (TB) epidemic, the HIV prevalence is low among general populations, and 3.9% among key populations. Despite the high possibility of HIV-TB coinfection, scientifically tested approaches for increasing TB case detection among sexual minority people are yet to be developed and...

Background A systematic assessment was done to examine the effect of HIV interventions among MSM in Dhaka, Bangladesh. MSM were defined as males having sex with males but did not sell sex in the last year. MSM are hidden, marginalized and stigmatized population groups not only in Bangladesh but also globally. In 2010, HIV interventions for MSM were...

Background In Bangladesh, community-based and peer-led prevention interventions for human immunodeficiency virus infection are provided to key populations (KPs) by drop-in centers (DICs), which are primarily supported by external donors. This intervention approach was adopted because public healthcare facilities were reportedly insensitive to the n...

Background: Internationally, methamphetamine use is prevalent among males who have sex with males (MSM) and transgender women (hijra), with studies showing its association with risky sexual behaviours leading to HIV transmission. This study aimed to explore the underlying reasons for methamphetamine use among MSM and hijra in Bangladesh. Methods: W...

Background: Internationally, methamphetamine use is prevalent among males who have sex with males (MSM) and transgender women (hijra), with studies showing its association with risky sexual behaviours leading to HIV transmission. This study aimed to explore the underlying reasons for methamphetamine use among MSM and hijra in Bangladesh. Methods:...

Background: Indigenous populations of Bangladesh have diverse cultural practices. Their vulnerabilities to sexual health and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV are not well-understood. Studies from South Asia reported high STI prevalence although the paucity of relevant data is evident in Bangladesh. Indigenous people are neglecte...

In Bangladesh transgender women (hijras) are thought to be highly mobile that may be an impediment to condom use. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the extent of mobility of hijras, in-country and cross-border, and whether mobility affects condom use in anal intercourse. Hijras ≥15 years of age, receiving services from the Globa...

Documentation of N. gonorrhoeae resistance to multiple antibiotics globally has given rise to major concerns regarding a future of untreatable gonorrhea (1, 2).…

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) standards of care for transsexual, transgender, and gender non-conforming people (version 7) represent international normative standards for clinical care for these populations. Standards for optimal individual clinical care are consistent around the world, although the implementatio...

Hijra refers to culturally acceptable socio-sexual groups of people of the Indian subcontinent (i.e., India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan) who do not conform to conventional notions of male?female gender dichotomy but combine or move between the two. They claim themselves being ?neither male nor female? and many scholars argued that hijra constitutes a...

Hijra refers to culturally acceptable socio-sexual groups of people of the Indian subcontinent (i.e., India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan) who do not conform to conventional notions of male–female gender dichotomy but combine or move between the two. They claim themselves being “neither male nor female” and many scholars argued that hijra constitutes a...

Worldwide, transgender women who engage in sex work have a disproportionate risk for HIV compared with natal male and female sex workers. We reviewed recent epidemiological research on HIV in transgender women and show that transgender women sex workers (TSW) face unique structural, interpersonal, and individual vulnerabilities that contribute to r...

Introduction: Research and interventions in most South Asian countries have predominantly addressed HIV vulnerabilities of MSM and TGP without restoring their female sexual partners into the comprehensive framework of HIV prevention. Methods: The abstract is based on qualitative data of two studies on MSM and TGP where findings are analyzed by co...

Background: In order to take appropriate strategic response and allocate resources efficiently it is important to know the size of any most at risk populations (MARP) before initiating HIV interventions. Access to transgendered people known as hijra in South Asia for providing HIV prevention services in Bangladesh has been through the network of a...

Background: International migration plays a significant role in HIV transmission across countries. Bangladesh has a net migration rate of 0.5/1000 population with six million workers. While scientific evidences have positioned them as a key population for HIV in Bangladesh, feeble health system response has resulted into lack of effective HIV preve...

Understanding the demographic, behavioural and psychosocial factors associated with partner referral for patients with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is important for designing appropriate intervention strategies. A survey was conducted among STI clients in three government and three non-governmental organization-operated clinics in Dhaka a...

This report synthesizes data from surveillance, behavioral surveys and published and unpublished research to better understand emerging patterns and trends in the HIV epidemic in Bangladesh. Taking stock of 20 years of experience with HIV in Bangladesh, this report summarizes what is known about the coverage and impact of HIV prevention services, i...

The transgender people (hijra), who claim to be neither male nor female, are socially excluded in Bangladesh. This paper describes social exclusion of hijra [The term is used in this abstract both in singular and plural sense] focusing on the pathway between exclusion and sexual health. In an ethnographic study, 50 in-depth interviews with hijra, 2...

A qualitative study was conducted among key informants and 53 young clients (15 to 24 years of age) of commercial sex workers from nine hotels in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Respondents reported first sexual encounter before 18 years of age, and reasons for purchasing sex were to prove masculinity or to reduce wet dreams and masturbation, thought to be detr...

Despite condom interventions since year 2000 with the transgender (hijra) population, condom use remains low. Consequently, hijra suffer from higher rates of active syphilis, putting them under threat of HIV transmission. In an ethnographic study, 50 in-depth interviews with diverse groups of hijra along with 20 key-informants interviews with vario...

An ethnographic research on Hijra community in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh initiated an early response to the HIV epidemic starting in the mid-1980s. Since then, the response has been enhanced considerably, and many HIV-prevention interventions among the most at-risk populations and the general youth are being undertaken. Alongside prevention activities, gathering of data has been a key activity fostered by bot...

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of respondent driven sampling (RDS) to sample males who have sex with males (MSM) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A major objective for conducting this survey was to determine whether RDS can be a viable sampling method for future routine serologic and behavioral surveillance of MSM as well as other socially networked,...

Abstract Men's sexual health concerns (SHCs) receive inadequate attention in research and health interventions. We explored meanings of SHCs, particularly sexual performance, in a qualitative study on male sexuality in Bangladesh. Five focus group discussions with key-informants and 50 urban and rural men were interviewed. Male superiority and powe...

Despite condom interventions since year 2000 with the transgender (hijra) population, condom use remains low. Consequently, hijra suffer from higher rates of active syphilis, putting them under threat of HIV transmission. In an ethnographic study, 50 in-depth interviews with diverse groups of hijra along with 20 key-informants interviews with vario...

Perspectives of public health generally ignore culture-bound sexual health concerns, such as semen loss, and primarily attempt to eradicate sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Like in many other countries, sexual health concerns of men in Bangladesh have also received less attention compared to STIs...

Studies of men who have sex with men in South Asian countries including Bangladesh have tended to focus mainly on measuring male-to-male sexual risk behaviours, with less attention being given to understanding the nature and meaning of their sexual relations with women. This can result in missed opportunities for HIV/AIDS-related intervention. This...

Male sex workers (MSWs) and sex trades are not new in Bangladesh. Current HIV interventions for MSWs need to be expanded in the major cities, but the number of MSWs needs to be scientifically estimated. Although two-sample capture-recapture surveys are suitable for closed populations, this method was here applied to indirectly estimate the number o...

Condom use in Bangladesh is low despite nationwide family planning initiatives and HIV interventions. Fifty men aged between 18 and 55 years from diverse socio-demographic backgrounds and five key informants were interviewed in a qualitative male sexuality study. Refusal to use condoms is not only a personal choice, but pertains to relationships. T...

The policy of condom intervention is based on achieving ejaculation inside a condom, a “mechanical” goal of sexual interaction, a social act. However, most research on condom use has focused upon a simplistic reliance on survey results of condom use during the last sex act. Interviews with 20 hotel-based, female sex workers and 15 (male) clients we...

Most people in Bangladesh are rural, poor and underprivileged. The incidence of sexual disease has increased, but little has been done to educate rural people about sexual and reproductive health. In 1997, a sexual and reproductive health project was initiated within a collaborative research agreement between the International Centre for Diarrhoeal...