Strike at HIV when prevalence is low: Expert

December 3, 2009

MANGALORE: " The return on investment in the prevention of HIV far exceeds that

of standard capital investments. Studies have indicated that these returns, in

terms of cost savings through preventing HIV, are as much as 3.5-7.5 times the

cost of intervention, " said Ravinandan, officer, Corporate Outreach and

Training, Population Services International (PSI) here on Tuesday.

Participating in the workshop on Public-Private Partnership for HIV/AIDS held on

World AIDS Day, Ravinandan said businesses have to be proactive and learn from

the experiences of their counterparts in sub-Saharan Africa who say that the

best time to respond is when the prevalence is low.

Looking at the current HIV/AIDS situation in India, and the emerging trends, it

is clear that if businesses don't act now, the cost of inaction will be far

greater. " Karnataka is one of the six states hit hard by HIV and requires urgent

action from all stakeholders. Prevention works best, and is most cost effective,

when started early. The business response to HIV/AIDS should not wait until the

problem is obvious, " he noted.

Can hit foreign investment, Regarding the impact, he said it potentially

threatens the stability and security of a nation, with preliminary evidence from

Africa suggesting that the pandemic can deter foreign investment and disrupt

other flows of goods and capital.

Others being a weakened economy with reduced consumer spending and increased

demand for healthcare services strains public sector capacity and forces

countries to reassess budgeting decisions. He said the loss of human capital and

shifting demographics threaten to decimate decades of development, skill and

intellectual resource. Evidence from India suggest that the number of school

drop outs increases.

During the workshop, Seema Mathias, secretary, Hongirana Network, mentioned the

fact that more than 125 HIV positive people have enrolled for the

hospitalization insurance from DK district alone. Money is a significant barrier

in scaling up enrollment.

The irony is that unless the pool of insurance enrollees increases, no definite

conclusions can be made on the claim ratio, she said adding unless such data is

available, other insurance companies including the public sector companies will

be reluctant to include HIV positive people in existing medical insurance

schemes.

" PSI has shown us the way, its our responsibility to take it forward in the

interest of PLHIV community across the country, " she noted.

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