Since HIV/AIDS was discovered some 30 years ago, it has resulted in 39 million deaths. Thirty-five million are living with HIV today, and 25 million of those are in sub-Saharan Africa, where AIDS kills more than 3,000 people each day. In just two days, AIDS claims the same number of lives as the entire Ebola outbreak this year. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for almost 70% of the global total of new HIV infections.
Breakthroughs in treatment and prevention have been impressive. However, beyond biomedical preventions such as prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and voluntary male circumcision, more focus is needed on finding interventions that truly address the structural and social drivers of the epidemic. Defeating HIV will take decades, and the battle needs more resources from donors and affected countries.
When researchers from RethinkHIV*, a consortium led by the Blavatnik School of Government, gathered in Oxford last month, their focus was on establishing the best approach to identifying those interventions that will defeat HIV. The meeting allowed each academic team in the consortium to share their research and get important feedback on future directions and policy implications.
Joining them at this first meeting were two former African presidents, President Festus Mogae (President of Botswana, 1998-2008) and President Kgalema Motlanthe (President of South Africa, 2008-2009). Involved in the discussions throughout the day, the presidents were part of closing panel that focused on the question, “How do we get African governments and international donors to participate in new thinking?”
Other questions addressed included:
- Is there a new ethical way to galvanise HIV interventions through the lens of a Duty of Rescue?
- How can we develop a sustainable model for financing HIV interventions over the next 35 years?
- How large is the financial burden for HIV interventions over the next 35 years?
- What innovative financing mechanisms are available to us?
- How can our understanding of HIV co-morbitities be utilised as a platform for strengthening the entire health system?
- How can new fiscal space be created for funding HIV interventions?
Lead researcher Mthuli Ncube explained, “This meeting was not only about building strong academic connections across this multidisciplinary team of researchers, but also about ensuring that policy outcomes and ambitions for concrete, positive change are built into the very foundations of the research agenda. The experience and input of the presidents was absolutely vital in that regard. It was wonderful to have their involvement.”
Ultimately, it is hope that in answering these questions, RethinkHIV will help bring about a shift in thinking on the economics of HIV.
View some photographs from the event
Find out more about the RethinkHIV research project
Download the RethinkHIV vision statement
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*RethinkHIV was created and funded by the RUSH Foundation. It brings together senior researchers from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Imperial College London, Harvard School of Public Health, Centre for the Study of African Economies and Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University.
The groundbreaking RethinkHIV research programme brings together leading health, economics and development experts to evaluate new evidence related to the costs, benefits, effects, fiscal implications, and developmental impacts of HIV interventions in sub-Saharan Africa in order to maximise contributions to the fight against HIV. The aim is to find ways of creating, optimising, and sustaining fiscal space for domestic HIV investment, as well as exploring long-term, sustainable national and international financing mechanisms.
