Forecasting Art Coverage in South Africa Using the Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network

In this research article, the ANN approach was applied to analyze ART coverage in South Africa. 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 model indicate that the model is stable in forecasting ART coverage in South Africa. The results of the study indicate that the country is likely to record an ART coverage of around 65% over the period 2019-2023.Therefore the government is encouraged to intensify demand creation for HIV testing and ART services and improve ART access for both documented and undocumented migrant workers, and strengthen the system of tracking loss to follow up ART clients.