Differentiated HIV-service Delivery Along the Cascade for Men who Have Sex with Men and Transgender Women in Thailand: Lessons Learned from LINKAGES Project

The number of new HIV infections in Thailand has been in decline for more than 10 years, but HIV prevalence continues to be high among members of key populations (KPs) that account for more than 50% of all new infections in this concentrated epidemic.

The Key Population-Led Health Services (KPLHS) Model was developed by the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre (TRCARC) and is currently being implemented by communitybased partners through funding provided by USAID/PEPFAR through the LINKAGES Project managed by FHI 360. KPLHS was started in four provinces (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chonburi and Songkhla) in Thailand, is now placed in the national HIV/AIDS strategy for scale-up, and receiving financing from the Thai National Health Security Organization (NHSO). The model defines a set of HIV-related health services, which focuses on improving HIV
service uptake among KPs including men who have sex with men (MSM), male sex workers (MSW), transgender women (TGW), and transgender women sex workers (TGSW) and delivers differentiated HIV services, tailored to the needs of the specific subpopulation.