Forecasting Art Coverage in Malaysia Using the Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network

In this research article, the ANN approach was applied to analyze ART coverage in Malaysia. The employed annual data covers the period 2000-2018 and the out-of-sample period ranges over the period 2019-2023. The residuals and forecast evaluation criteria (Error, MSE and MAE) of the applied ANN (9, 12, 1) model indicate that the model is stable in forecasting ART coverage in Malaysia. The results of the study indicate that ART coverage is likely to drop drastically over the period 2019-2023. The government is encouraged to intensify demand creation for HIV testing and ART services, allocate financial resources for TB/HIV program collaboration and strengthen the system of tracking loss to follow up ART clients.