Nongovernmental organizations in South Asia will receive $47 million to reduce the spread of HIV among gay men in the region.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria will hand out the grant money to launch a community-based program, in the organization's first grant of its kind. The launch will focus on gays and transgender people in seven countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

According to Thaindian News, the project is slated to run for at least five years. Naz Foundation International, Population Services International, the United Nations Development Programme, and the South Asian MSM and AIDS Network will work with several community organizations to implement the project.

Jeffrey O’Malley, global director of the United Nations Development Program's HIV Group, cited the millions of gay and transgender people who face discrimination, thus making it difficult for them to function in society.

“This makes them more vulnerable to HIV and undermines their capacity to contribute fully to their communities and societies,” he said in a statement.