What's New

This report presents the findings of the second round of Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance (IBBS) surveys conducted in 2016-2017 among female sex workers (FSW) and men who have sex with men (MSM) in Dili and Baucau, Timor-Leste. The previous round was conducted in 2011 among the same populations and found an HIV prevalence of less than 5%. The present study is primarily aimed to track the HIV epidemic, monitor sexual risk behaviours, and to measure access to intervention programs in responding to HIV.

Since joining the Fast Track Cities initiative in 2014 the percentage of PLHIV in Bangkok who know their status has increased, from 66% to 79% in 2016. For the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the priorities have moved to the “second 90” (where Bangkok is two thirds of the way, at 60%) and the “third 90” where Bangkok currently stands at 70%.

Viet Nam commercial hub and its most populous city is committed to the 90-90-90 targets and joined the Fast-Track city initiative in 2015. Having recently shown how integrating HIV services into the general health system was possible and recognizing that stigma and discrimination remained formidable barriers to people living with HIV and key populations, a pilot initiative was launched to reduce discrimination in health care settings.

Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country, with 261,890,000 people, spread over 13,000 islands. The capital, Jakarta, has an estimated population of 10,370,000 (2017). One of the world's mega-cities, the mayor signed on to the 2014 Paris Declaration, Fast-track Cities: Ending the AIDS Epidemic (Cities Achieving 90-90-90 Targets by 2020).

Quezon City, (population 2.9 million, 2015) the most populous city in the country, has been at the forefront of the response. In 2015 to 2016, over 1500 new cases of HIV were diagnosed, approximately 10% of all cases in the country, while its population comprises less than three percent of the total Philippine population of 103 million.

Antiretroviral treatment (ART) optimization is a key pillar in the AIDS Free agenda to reach the goal of ensuring 95% of all infants and children have access to lifesaving treatment. This policy brief outlines key considerations to facilitate effective transition to more clinically appropriate regimens as optimal ARV medicines and dosage forms become available.

The toolkit was developed under the umbrella of the Global Accelerator for Paediatric Formulations initiative to address some of the remaining challenges in developing HIV drugs for children and to serve as a global standard for accelerating high-quality research and development in this field. It provides an opportunity to capitalize on best practices and to set standards that enable drugs and formulations to be developed and introduced more rapidly. The aim of this toolkit is to facilitate faster, more efficient and focused development of new formulations for the effective treatment of infants, children and adolescents living with HIV by synthesizing key considerations for different stages of the drug development process.

Although access to effective HIV antiretroviral treatments has improved significantly – enabling people living with HIV to live long and productive lives including working and contributing to society in many different ways – people living with HIV continue to face discrimination in relation to work in terms of finding employment, keeping jobs and furthering career progression.

In 2016, Youth LEAD’s Strategic Plan for 2016-2018 commenced. 2017 was a year filled with achievements that aimed to target the five strategic priorities for Youth LEAD. Each of these priorities focuses on the needs of adolescent key populations (AKPs) and YKPs in the Asia-Pacific Region.

This provides an interactive report with colourful infographics and bite-size information on the HIV epidemic and response on key populations at higher risk of HIV in Myanmar.