Fast-tracking the end of HIV in the Asia Pacific region: domestic funding of key population-led and civil society organisations

Ending AIDS in Asia Pacific by 2030 requires countries to give higher priority to financing community-based and key population-led service delivery. Mechanisms must be developed for civil society organisations to deliver health and HIV/AIDS services for key populations, especially men who have sex with men, and transgender people, within national health policy frameworks. Current investments in the HIV response in the Asia Pacific region reflect inadequate HIV financing for key populations, particularly for civil society and key population-led organisations that are optimally positioned to advance HIV epidemic control. These organisations are typically supported by international agencies whose investments are starting to decline. Domestic investments in key population-led organisations are often hampered by punitive laws against their communities, pervasive stigma and discrimination by policy makers, an insufficient understanding of the most effective HIV epidemic control strategies, and financing systems that limit access to funding for these organisations from the national budget. Countries in the Asia Pacific region are evolving their community-based and key population policies and programmes. We need accessible, disaggregated financial data and in-depth case studies that showcase effective key population-led programmes, to enable countries to learn from each other.