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In September 2025, OUT successfully completed a pilot chemsex programme for MSM in Soweto, funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The programme achieved its primary goal of improving ART retention, with participants showing an increase of more than 40%. Key interventions included layered mental health support such as informal peer-buddy systems, social worker sessions, and selected psychological and psychiatric assessments. These interventions addressed issues including depression, anxiety, family dynamics, harm reduction, and income generation. In 2026, the project will focus on consolidating these gains, expanding beyond Soweto, and providing technical assistance to other MSM health programmes.
OUT will receive funding from the National Lotteries Commission in early 2026 to establish two new health sites in the City of Johannesburg—one in Yeoville and another in Soweto. The organisation will work closely with the Department of Health to support the successful implementation of the new Jeppe Street Key Population Clinic. In addition, OUT will pursue new collaborations, funding applications, and programme areas aligned with its mission and vision.
OUT has been at the forefront of providing HIV and sexual health services to men who have sex with men (MSM) for many years, including through its previous ground-breaking CDC-funded programme in Tshwane. OUT’s program provided professional, welcoming and stigma-free sexual & reproductive health services tailored to the needs of MSM through its vibrant Engage Men’s Health project (funded by PEPFAR through USAID).
Engage Men’s Health opened the doors to its centrally-located Johannesburg clinic in June 2019, offering free HIV and related on-site health services up until the programme’s closure in March 2025.
The project also went out into communities via outreach mobile services in the Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and Johannesburg metros. Services included free HIV and STI testing and treatment (ARVs), PrEP and PEP, self-testing kits distribution and more.
In 2023, OUT received a two-year grant from PEPFAR through USAID to continue to provide and enhance vital HIV services for MSM in the three South African metros via the Engage Men’s Health project. This historic grant was the first ever direct funding awarded by USAID to an MSM-focused and LGBTQ-run organisation in South Africa.
For over 20 years, OUT LGBT Well-being’s Human Rights Programme championed the safety, dignity, and equality of LGBTIQ+ people in South Africa. Rooted in care, resistance, and community-building, the programme worked to combat hate crimes, end discrimination, and advance justice for queer communities across the country.
Established in the early days of South Africa’s democracy, the programme evolved from offering psychosocial support and public education to leading national advocacy efforts. OUT was instrumental in founding the Hate Crimes Working Group, influencing legislation, and advising government through the National Task Team on LGBTIQ+ Rights. The programme also provided direct support to survivors of violence, expanded access to services in rural and under-resourced areas, and mobilized communities through education, legal referrals, and grassroots reporting tools. OUT Human Rights remains committed to building a safer, more inclusive South Africa—one where all LGBTIQ+ people can live openly, freely, and with pride.
A pilot project supported by Grand Challenges Canada, which included a WhatsApp platform for LGBT+ youth to improve access to online and offline mental health services and resources.
It also sought to enhance parental understanding of mental health and employed peer support among parents as an effective way to help their LGBT+ children. The project utilised cognitive behavioural therapy and psychotherapy to alleviate minority stress processes, focusing on depression, anxiety, internalised homophobia, and resilience. Through the Bazwa project learnings, we aim to develop a scalable mental health model for use in all OUT programmes.
Funded through the US Embassy’s Julia Taft Fund, this project provided support to LGBT Refugees and Asylum Seekers in South Africa to navigate the Department of Home Affairs application process.
It also offered shelter assistance, including the provision of sanitary and hygiene products, and a safe space for LGBT asylum seekers and refugees to access mental health assistance and to develop networking opportunities for economic advancement, and other support networks.
Building 4, Sunwood Park, 379 Queen’s Crescent, Lynwood, Pretoria, 0081, South Africa
Telephone: 012 430 3272
South Africa international dialing code: +27