Arantxa Colchero

The session addressed several aspects related HIV financing, funders and costs in different settings.

Bryan Patenaude estimated the impact of development assistance resources on domestic investment and health outcome. Results show a positive but small impact on crowding-in private and public investment and on reducing HIV and TB prevalences. Ravipa Vannakit presented challenges to transitioning from donor to domestic funding in Thailand. Stigma and discrimination, lack of political will and limited data on how the money is spent are the main barriers. Key population organizations can be effective in reaching and linking to care but defining the appropriate and acceptable costs is still a challenge. Diego Cerecero presented an analysis of unit costs of HIV treatment in Mexico using administrative data of 74 facilities from 2010 to 2015 in Mexico. The average cost was 5,996 USD with a large variation between facilities. The relative weight of ART increased over time and the study found non-lineal associations between the number of patients and unit costs.

The session addressed relevant topics related to the challenges of financing HIV programs and getting costs down. Costing HIV treatment and prevention interventions is key for resource allocation. Studying determinants of cost variation can serve develop interventions to improve efficiency.