This was the first year of the new funding cycle for the Multi-Country Western Pacific Integrated HIV/tuberculosis (TB) Programme. The three-year (2018-2020) US$11,368,713 programme is supported by the Global Fund and aims to strengthen control of HIV and TB in 11 Pacific island countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The United Nations Development Programme is the programme’s Principal Recipient.

HIV prevalence in the 11 Western Pacific countries continues to be low, with overall prevalence estimated at 0.1 percent.1 The cumulative number of persons ever diagnosed with HIV up until November 2017 in the programme supported countries is 234.2 Despite the low rates and numbers, HIV vulnerability is still high.