The Economics of Effective AIDS Treatment: Evaluating Policy Options for Thailand

A new report on Thailand's experience of giving free anti-retroviral drugs (ART) to people living with AIDS suggests that even developing countries with few resources may be able to deliver the life-saving drugs on a large scale, according to the World Bank and the Thailand Ministry of Public Health.

Of the estimated 38 million people worldwide infected with HIV, WHO says between 6 to 8 million could immediately benefit from ART, but fewer than 1.9 million people are being treated with the new therapy. In contrast, by May, 2006 Thailand was providing treatment for approximately 78 thousand AIDS patients, more than 90 percent of those in need of treatment.

The new report "The Economics of Effective AIDS Treatment: Evaluating Policy Options for Thailand" (see below) indicates that the country's ability to provide ART affordably to more than 80,000 Thais with AIDS is the result of highly effective prevention campaigns over previous years, a vast network of district level hospitals and rural health clinics with the capacity to provide widespread treatment, a strong NGO community that has worked closely with government on rolling out the expanded ART program, and the close involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS themselves. More

Access the Full Report - FINAL VERSION, August 2006
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Foreword, Acknowledgments, Abbreviations & Table of Contents (109kb pdf)
Executive Summary (128kb pdf)
Ch. 1: Introduction (66kb pdf)
Ch. 2: The Thai AIDS Epidemic Now (171kb pdf)
Ch. 3: HIV/AIDS and Antiretroviral Therapy (194kb pdf)
Ch. 4: The Effects of Thailand's Current Aids Policy (226kb pdf)
Ch. 5: Policies to Strengthen Treatment Programs: Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Alternative Policy Scenarios (139kb pdf)
Ch. 6: Sensitivity to the Policy Rankings to Key Assignments (92kb pdf)
Ch. 7: Major Findings and Recommendations (67kb pdf)
Appendix A: Impact of ART on Survival (97kb pdf)
Appendix B: Cost of Antiretroviral Therapy (57kb pdf)
Appendix C: Cost of Support Groups of People Living with HIV/AIDS (54kb pdf)
References and Index (3.8mb pdf)