Evolution of the health sector response to HIV in Myanmar: progress, challenges and the way forward

• Addressing structural barriers for KP to access services, and identifying and targeting KPs at higher risk; • Strengthening the network of public facilities, NGOs and general practitioners and introducing a case management approach to assist KPs and other clients with unknown HIV status, HIV-negative clients and newly diagnosed clients to access the health services across the continuum to increase the number of people testing for HIV and to reduce loss to follow-up in both prevention and treatment; • Increasing the availability of HIV testing and counselling services for KPs, clients of female sex workers (FSW), and other populations at risk, and raising the demand for timely testing including expansion of outreach and client-initiated voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) services; • Monitoring and maximising retention from HIV diagnosis to ART initiation and expanding quality HIV laboratory services, especially viral load; • Prioritising integration of HIV and related services in high-burden areas; • Increasing the proportion of PLHIV receiving testing and treatment at public facilities by improving human resources and increasing public facilities providing these services to ensure sustainability; • Obtaining intelligence and tailoring services in hard-to-reach/under-served areas; • Strengthening planning, monitoring, and coordination capacity especially at regional levels.