(Oakland)  U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and others helped welcome to its new Oakland headquarters Monday a group trying to bring to light inequalities in care, treatment and prevention that gay men and other men who have sex with men face in dealing with AIDS and HIV.

The Global Forum on MSM & HIV— MSM is an acronym for "men who have sex with men" which is considered a behavior and not a sexual orientation — was launched during the XVI International AIDS Conference held in Toronto in August 2006 in response to what advocates felt was an inadequate global HIV strategies for that particular population. In January, the group moved into its new downtown Oakland offices.

George Ayala, the executive officer of the Global Forum, said Oakland's response to its own epidemic among men who have sex with men of color made the city a natural selection for the Global Forum's headquarters.

"We're look forward to working with both our local partners and those abroad to make sure we address these issues," Ayala said.

Read the full article on insidebayarea.com.