Success Stories: LINKAGES Thailand Pioneering a New Model for Increasing Uptake of HIV Testing and Counseling

Fewer than half of all men who have sex with men (MSM) in Asia know their HIV status. Part of the reason for this is that the prevailing model of outreach-based promotion of HIV testing and counseling (HTC) has achieved only low testing uptake and identication of HIV-positive individuals.

The USAID and PEPFAR-funded LINKAGES Thailand program — implemented by FHI in partnership with local community-based organizations Mplus Foundation and Caremat — has introduced an enhanced peer mobilizer model (EPM) to increase HTC and improve enrollment and retention of those who test positive in the HIV continuum of care. The key components of this model are:
- Increased focus on targeted, one-on-one interpersonal communications between clients and trained, salaried community-based supporters (CBSs)
- Shift of responsibility for client recruitment to an informal network of incentivized peer mobilizers (PMs) who recruit clients from within their social and sexual networks