Uganda: Cost of HIV/Aids treatment to increase by Shs2b

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A lab technician checks samples of blood for HIV in Kampala. PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA

In its new report on the financial implication of HIV/Aids on the budget, the World Bank says though Uganda’s economy remains one of the fastest growing, this growth is not enough to fund the increasing cost of HIV/Aids treatment.

The government currently relies heavily on donor funding in the fight against HIV/Aids treatment with donors meeting 85 per cent of the total spending on the scourge.

According to the report, in Uganda, the costs of the national response to HIV/Aids are estimated to rise to above 3 per cent of the Growth Domestic Product (GDP).

The report says costs incurred by a single infection are estimated at about 12 times GDP per capita ($5,900 or Shs13 million) per new infection as of 2010.

The Bank says due to the current difficult economic environment in donor countries, aid allocations are constrained and could further reduce.
The World Bank report reveals that there are about 1.2 million people living with HIV/Aids in Uganda. The WB study also shows that 120,000 new HIV infections and 64,000 HIV/Aids–related deaths occurred in 2009.

Prevalence declining
The study also reveals that because of high population growth rate, HIV prevalence has been declining even though the absolute numbers of people living with HIV/Aids have not.

“How to finance the long-term response to HIV/Aids is a complex question, especially because the cost of treating new infections is spread over several decades,” said Ms Elizabeth Lule, the WB co-author of the new report.

Ms Lule added: “Strategic investments in preventing new infections—while also meeting current treatment, care and support needs—can help countries plan for what will otherwise be an unmanageable fiscal burden.”

The WB Chief Economist for Africa region, Dr Shantayanan Devarajan, said HIV/Aids imposes enormous economic, social, health and human costs and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

“The challenge is particularly acute in Sub Saharan Africa, home to two–thirds (22.5 million) of the people living with HIV/Aids globally and where HIV/Aids has become the leading cause of premature death,” he said.

By MARTIN LUTHER and Brian Senoga, Daily Monitor

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