Modeling the Cost-effectiveness of HIV/AIDS Interventions in Different Socio-economic Contexts in South Africa, (2007-2020)

Evidence on how HIV/AIDS interventions compare on the basis of cost, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness estimates in different socio-economic contexts, has not been sufficient to guide policy-making in South Africa. To guide policy on how HIV/AIDS intervention resources should be allocated in rural and urban contexts, this paper aims to compare, over the period 2007-2020, the cost-effectiveness of intervening in rural and urban contexts for each of the following HIV/AIDS interventions: prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for adults and HAART for children. Spectrum Policy Modeling System (SPMS) is used to project effectiveness over time and the number of annual patient-years using interventions in each context. The costs were derived from a systematic review of the available evidence and a scenario analysis was conducted. The results show the dependence of the cost-effectiveness of HIV/AIDS interventions on the context of implementation and suggest the need for careful consideration, by South African policy makers, of the rural and urban contexts when allocating resources in HIV/AIDS interventions. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n3p58