Table . Challenges in Generating High-Quality and Frequent HIV Data in the MENA and Action Steps Needed to Improve the Quality and Quantity of HIV Data in the MENA .

Challenges	Action Steps
Limited studies on key populations at risk of HIV	• Acknowledging the burden of the epidemic and recognizing key populations as a reality • Conduct population size estimation studies
Exclusion of foreign migrant workers, military personnel, refugees, and street children from HIV surveillance programs	• Commitment to fund and conduct consistent and frequent surveillance surveys
Ongoing conflicts leading to forced displacement of the population	• Scaling up outreach programs to reach the refugee and displaced population
Policy-making dilemmas in funding HIV research	• Combating HIV-related stigma and discrimination at individual, community, and structural-levels • Coordination between ministries of health, religious leaders, and criminal justice system
Limited national research budgets	• Further financial support from international organizations as well as from wealthy countries in MENA not facing political unrests • Establishment of a regional funding resource to share the financial burden of responding to HIV
Lack of publicly available databases	• Developing regional data sharing policies and publicly available databases to improve data access for foreign researchers and promote international and regional collaborations
Limited human capital	• Training a generation of young local or regional HIV researchers

Abbreviation‏: MENA, Middle East and North.