Panama National Meeting - Scaling up progress to remove HIV service barriers

Law & Access: Entry points and opportunities for strengthening access to services for key populations 

The SCALE Initiative is conducting a series of facilitated multi-stakeholder dialogues across PEPFAR-supported countries to advance alignment on key-population led efforts in countering discriminatory laws, policies and practices and identify opportunities in national structures and processes that can be leveraged for progress. 

Co-convened jointly by the UNDP Panama Country Office in collaboration with key population–led communities, the in-person meeting addressed some of the following questions: 

• Current Status: What laws, policies and practices are currently the largest impediment to securing equitable access to HIV services for key populations? 
• Alignment: How can current coordination mechanisms and multi-sectoral plans be shaped and strengthened to more meaningfully address issues related to HIV and the law?  
• Perspectives: What can collectively be done to build a more supportive and enabling environment for key populations?