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Resource | Publications,
In the two decades since HIV/AIDS was first discovered, it has gone from being an enigmatic, uncommon disease to a less mysterious, rampant pandemic. No region has been spared its impact. Few are unaware of its presence.
The spectre of HIV/AIDS is already here, casting a dark shadow over the Asian and Pacific region. The epidemic is a clear and present danger. It threatens to unravel achievements gained. It also threatens to stall future progress.
Given the many ways in which HIV/AIDS proliferates and affects our societies, the solutions too need a multi-pronged approach. The region’s experience in marrying social and economic policies is vital to tackling the pandemic in all its dimensions.
Resource | Publications,
For many years, little was known about preventing transmission of HIV infection from mother to child. Recently, however, many advances have been made in developing effective and affordable interventions that reduce the likelihood that a woman will pass HIV on to her baby. The two most important interventions—the provision of antiretroviral drugs and the avoidance of breastfeeding—only apply to HIV-positive women. Both therefore require that a woman know whether she is infect- ed by HIV. And yet in developing countries, where 95% of mother-to-child infections take place, there are very few counselling and testing services that allow a woman to find out her HIV status.
The document gives an overview of the magnitude of the problem of HIV transmission from mother to child. It then focuses on the benefits of counselling and voluntary HIV testing in the context of pregnancy, and discusses the content of such counselling. Operational issues and potential difficulties in setting up and maintaining such a service are explored.
Resource | Publications,
It is essential to know the costs of different prevention strategies to be able to set public policy priorities in the fight against AIDS. Hence this important costing tool, a new edition of Costing guidelines for HIV prevention strategies, first issued by UNAIDS in 1998. The guidelines now contain cost analysis worksheets and cover injecting drug users.
In many developing countries economists are scarce, but these guidelines make it possible for other professionals such as accountants and planners to analyse costs. Such analyses must be combined with a judgement of an intervention's outcome. That an intervention has a low cost does not necessarily mean it is worth while from an economic perspective; for example, if it does not slow the spread of the disease or has unwanted side-effects that outweigh benefits.
Resource | Publications,
This paper introduces the conceptual framework of interrelated consequences of the economic crisis on HIV/AIDS prevention and control. On the basis of document research and in-depth interviews with officials at national and provincial levels, we explain how the Government of Thailand has dealt with the AIDS epidemic during the period of economic hardship. The paper describes how programme managers at national and provincial levels have responded to budget cuts and discusses the impact the cuts may have on the effectiveness of programmes. The state of government finance and agreements with the International Monetary Fund have led to many policy adjustments and budget amendments.