Using information on ART costs and benefits to mobilise resources - comparing different methods and contexts.

Sustaining HIV and AIDS responses depends on a mix of donor, government and private funders. Their decisions about investing in HIV treatment may be informed by various types of economic evaluations, which may be more or less useful for different contexts. This paper benchmarks methods against each other. Epidemiological and demographic impacts of HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) from 1996-2015 were quantified using country- specific spectrum files. The study compared societal benefits of ART using the full income (FI) methodology with "conventional" benefit, utility and effectiveness estimates produced with the same data. The FI estimates suggested $3.50 in benefits per dollar spent on ART globally, 2.6 times larger than productivity-related measures of benefits, of $1.33 in benefits per dollar. Higher benefit-cost ratios are mainly because FI reflects value of life beyond what people produce at work and in non-working age groups, and allocates the future stream of benefits in the year that death is avoided. ART costs were 0.78 times per capita GDP per quality-adjusted life-years gained globally. FI benefit-cost ratios are considerably higher in upper- and lower-middle-income countries than in low- or high-income countries. Productivity-based benefits also exceeded costs in all but one region but had smaller ratios and different regional patterns. Per capita GDP per quality-adjusted life-years ratios were below 1.2 for all regions and country income bands, suggesting cost effectiveness. The fact that FI returns of ART are higher than productivity returns, helps to quantify developmental benefits of interventions that directly extend life and its quality, arguably the objective of development. They provide an important argument to increase budget allocations to health sectors for ART scale-up, and not just reallocate existing health resources. Benchmarking FI returns against cost per quality- adjusted life-years may allow comparison to other "cost effective" health interventions. However, caution should be taken in extrapolations between measures, because they produce different rankings across country categories.

Intensified household contact tracing, prevention and treatment support versus enhanced standard of care for contacts of tuberculosis cases in South Africa: study protocol for a household cluster-randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Household contact tracing of index TB cases has been advocated as a key part of TB control for many years, but has not been widely implemented in many low-resource setting because of the current dearth of high quality evidence for effectiveness. Innovative strategies for earlier, more effective treatment are particularly important in contexts with hyper-endemic levels of HIV, where levels of TB infection remain extremely high. METHODS: We present the design of a household cluster-randomised controlled trial of interventions aimed at improving TB-free survival and reducing childhood prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among household contacts of index TB cases diagnosed in two provinces of South Africa. Households of index TB cases will be randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to receive either an intensified home screening and linkage for TB and HIV intervention, or enhanced standard of care. The primary outcome will compare between groups the TB-free survival of household contacts over 15 months. All participants, or their next-of-kin, will provide written informed consent to participate. DISCUSSION: Evidence from randomised trials is required to identify cost-effective approaches to TB case-finding that can be applied at scale in sub-Saharan Africa. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN16006202 (01/02/2017: retrospectively registered) and NHREC4399 (11/04/2016: prospectively registered). Protocol version: 4.0 (date: 18th January 2018).

Twenty Years Of Antiretroviral Therapy For People Living With HIV: Global Costs, Health Achievements, Economic Benefits.

Since the introduction of azidothymidine in 1987, significant improvements in treatment for people living with HIV have yielded substantial improvements in global health as a result of the unique benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART averted 9.5 million deaths worldwide in 1995-2015, with global economic benefits of $1.05 trillion. For every $1 spent on ART, $3.50 in benefits accrued globally. If treatment scale-up achieves the global 90-90-90 targets of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, a total of 34.9 million deaths are projected to be averted between 1995 and 2030. Approximately 40.2 million new HIV infections could also be averted by ART, and economic gains could reach $4.02 trillion in 2030. Having provided ART to 19.5 million people represents a major human achievement. However, 15.2 million infected people are currently not receiving treatment, which represents a significant lost opportunity. Further treatment scale-up could yield even greater health and economic benefits.

Incorporating costing study results into district and service planning to enhance immunization programme performance: a Zambian case study.

Donors, researchers and international agencies have made significant investments in collection of high-quality data on immunization costs, aiming to improve the efficiency and sustainability of services. However, improved quality and routine dissemination of costing information to local managers may not lead to enhanced programme performance. This study explored how district- and service-level managers can use costing information to enhance planning and management to increase immunization outputs and coverage. Data on the use of costing information in the planning and management of Zambia's immunization programme was obtained through individual and group semi-structured interviews with planners and managers at national, provincial and district levels. Document review revealed the organizational context within which managers operated. Qualitative results described managers' ability to use costing information to generate cost and efficiency indicators not provided by existing systems. These, in turn, would allow them to understand the relative cost of vaccines and other resources, increase awareness of resource use and management, benchmark against other facilities and districts, and modify strategies to improve performance. Managers indicated that costing information highlighted priorities for more efficient use of human resources, vaccines and outreach for immunization programming. Despite decentralization, there were limitations on managers' decision-making to improve programme efficiency in practice: major resource allocation decisions were made centrally and planning tools did not focus on vaccine costs. Unreliable budgets and disbursements also undermined managers' ability to use systems and information. Routine generation and use of immunization cost information may have limited impact on managing efficiency in many Zambian districts, but opportunities were evident for using existing capacity and systems to improve efficiency. Simpler approaches, such as improving reliability and use of routine immunization and staffing indicators, drawing on general insights from periodic costing studies, and focusing on maximizing coverage with available resources, may be more feasible in the short-term.

Value stream mapping to characterize value and waste associated with accessing HIV care in South Africa.

INTRODUCTION: Inefficient clinic-level delivery of HIV services is a barrier to linkage and engagement in care. We used value stream mapping to quantify time spent on each component of a clinic visit while receiving care following a hospital admission in South Africa. METHODS: We described time for each clinic service ("process time") and time spent waiting for that service ("lead time"). We also determined time and patient costs associated with travel to the clinic and expenditures during the clinic visits for 15 clinic visits in South Africa. Participants were selected consecutively based on timing of scheduled clinic visit from a cohort of HIV-positive patients recently discharged from inpatient hospital care. During the mapping we asked the participants to assess challenges faced at the clinic visit. We subsequently conducted in depth interviews and included themes from the care experience in this analysis. RESULTS: The 15 clinic visits occurred at five clinics; four primary care and one hospital-based specialty clinic. Nine (64%) of the participants were women, the median age was 44 years (IQR: 32-49), three of the participants had one or more clinic visit in the prior 14 days, all but one participant was on antiretroviral therapy (ART) at the time of the clinic visit (ART was stopped following the hospital visit for that participant). The median time since hospital discharge was 131 days (interquartile range; IQR: 121-183) for the observed visits. The median travel time to and from the clinic to a place of residence was 60 minutes. The median time spent at the clinic was 3.5 hours (IQR: 2.5-5.3) of which 2.9 hours was lead time and 25 minutes was process time (registration, vital signs, clinician assessment, laboratory, and check-out). The median patient cost for transport and food while at the clinic was ZAR43/USD2.8 (median monthly household income in the district was ZAR2450/USD157). Participants highlighted long queues, repeat clinic visits, and multiple queues during the visit (median of 5 queues) as challenges. CONCLUSIONS: Accessing HIV care in South Africa is time consuming, complicated by multiple queues and frequent visits. A more patient-centered approach to care may decrease the burden of receiving care and improve outcomes.

Costs of introducing pneumococcal, rotavirus and a second dose of measles vaccine into the Zambian immunisation programme: Are expansions sustainable?

BACKGROUND: Introduction of new vaccines in low- and lower middle-income countries has accelerated since Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance was established in 2000. This study sought to (i) estimate the costs of introducing pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, rotavirus vaccine and a second dose of measles vaccine in Zambia; and (ii) assess affordability of the new vaccines in relation to Gavi's co-financing and eligibility policies. METHODS: Data on 'one-time' costs of cold storage expansions, training and social mobilisation were collected from the government and development partners. A detailed economic cost study of routine immunisation based on a representative sample of 51 health facilities provided information on labour and vaccine transport costs. Gavi co-financing payments and immunisation programme costs were projected until 2022 when Zambia is expected to transition from Gavi support. The ability of Zambia to self-finance both new and traditional vaccines was assessed by comparing these with projected government health expenditures. RESULTS: 'One-time' costs of introducing the three vaccines amounted to US$ 0.28 per capita. The new vaccines increased annual immunisation programme costs by 38%, resulting in economic cost per fully immunised child of US$ 102. Co-financing payments on average increased by 10% during 2008-2017, but must increase 49% annually between 2017 and 2022. In 2014, the government spent approximately 6% of its health expenditures on immunisation. Assuming no real budget increases, immunisation would account for around 10% in 2022. Vaccines represented 1% of government, non-personnel expenditures for health in 2014, and would be 6% in 2022, assuming no real budget increases. CONCLUSION: While the introduction of new vaccines is justified by expected positive health impacts, long-term affordability will be challenging in light of the current economic climate in Zambia. The government needs to both allocate more resources to the health sector and seek efficiency gains within service provision.

Cost analysis of routine immunisation in Zambia.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to inform planning and funding by providing updated, detailed information on total and unit costs of routine immunisation (RI) in Zambia, a GAVI-eligible lower middle-income country with a population of 13 million. METHODS: The exercise was part of a multi-country study on costs and financing of routine immunisation (EPIC) that utilized a common, ingredients-based approach to costing. Data on inputs, prices and outputs were collected in a stratified, random sample of 51 facilities in nine districts between December 2012 and March 2013 using a pre-tested questionnaire. Shared inputs were allocated to RI costs on the basis of tracing factors developed for the study. A comprehensive set of costs were analysed to obtain total and unit costs, at facility and above-facility levels. RESULTS: The total annual economic cost of RI was $38.16 million, equivalent to approximately 10% of government health spending. Government contributed 83% of finances. Labour accounted for the lion's share (49%) of total costs followed by vaccines (16%) and travel allowances (12%). Analysis of specific activity costs showed that outreach and facility-based services accounted for half of total economic costs. Costs for managing the program at district, provincial and national levels (above-facility costs) represented 24% of total costs. Average unit costs were $7.18 per dose, $59.32 per infant and $65.89 per DPT3 immunised child, with markedly higher unit costs in rural facilities. Analyses suggest that greater efficiency is associated with higher utilisation levels and urban facility type. CONCLUSIONS: Total and unit costs, and government's contribution, were considerably higher than previous Zambian estimates and international benchmarks. These findings have substantial implications for planners, efficiency improvement and sustainable financing, particularly as new vaccines are introduced. Variations in immunisation costs at facility level warrant further statistical analyses.

Mapping financial flows for immunisation in Uganda 2009/10 and 2010/11: New insights for methodologies and policy.

BACKGROUND: The Global Vaccine Action Plan highlights the need for immunisation programmes to have sustainable access to predictable funding. A good understanding of current and future funding needs, commitments, and gaps is required to enhance planning, improve resource allocation and mobilisation, and to avoid funding bottlenecks, as well as to ensure that co-funding arrangements are appropriate. This study aimed to map the resource envelope and flows for immunisation in Uganda in 2009/10 and 2010/11. METHODS: To assess costs and financing of immunisation, the study applied a common methodology as part of the multi-country Expanded Program on Immunisation Costing (EPIC) study (Brenzel et al., 2015). The financial mapping developed a customised extension of the System of Health Accounts (SHA) codes to explore immunisation financing in detail. Data were collected from government and external sources. The mapping was able to assess financing more comprehensively than many studies, and the simultaneous costing of routine immunisation collected detailed data about human resources costs. RESULTS: The Ugandan government contributed 56% and 42% of routine immunisation funds in 2009/10 and 2010/11, respectively, higher than previously estimated, and managed up to 90% of funds. Direct delivery of services used 93% of the immunisation financial resources in 2010/11, while the above service delivery costs were small (7%). Vaccines and supplies (41%) and salaries (38%) absorbed most funding. There were differences in the key cost categories between actual resource flows and the estimates from the comprehensive multi-year plan (cMYP). CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight that governments and partners need to improve systems to routinely track immunisation financing flows for enhanced accountability, performance, and sustainability. The modified SHA coding allowed financing to be mapped to specific immunisation activities, and could be used for standardised, resource tracking compatible with National Health Accounts (NHA). Recommendations are made for refining routine resource mapping approaches.

Macroeconomic and household-level impacts of HIV/AIDS in Botswana.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the impact of HIV/AIDS on economic growth and poverty in Botswana and estimate how providing treatment can mitigate its effects. METHODS: Demographic and financial projections were combined with economic simulation models, including a macroeconomic growth model and a macro-microeconomic computable general equilibrium and microsimulation model. RESULTS: HIV/AIDS significantly reduces economic growth and increases household poverty. The impact is now severe enough to be affecting the economy as a whole, and threatens to pull some of the uninfected population into poverty. Providing antiretroviral therapy can partly offset this negative effect. Treatment increases health's share of government expenditure only marginally, because it increases economic growth and because withholding treatment raises the cost of other health services. CONCLUSION: Botswana's treatment programme is appropriate from a macroeconomic perspective. Conducting macroeconomic impact assessments is important in countries where prevalence rates are particularly high.