AFRO-NETS> Online Conference on Cost-Effectiveness of HIV Prevention Interventions

[Dieter Neuvians MD <neuvians@harare.iafrica.com>]

Online Conference on Cost-Effectiveness of HIV Prevention Interventions
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You are cordially invited to join an online conference on the cost-
effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions. The discussion is being 
moderated by Lilani Kumaranayake and Charlotte Watts. Lilani is a 
health economist and Charlotte is a mathematician/epidemiologist. Both 
are lecturers and the London School of Tropical Medicine.

You can join the discussion now by visiting the International AIDS Eco-
nomics Network web site:

http://www.iaen.org/

Everybody is welcome to read the postings and the extensive background 
materials on the site. We also welcome postings from anybody interested 
in the issue of cost-effectiveness. To post you must first register. 
People who register may also request to receive all future postings to 
the discussion via e-mail. If you lack web access but wish to partici-
pate in the discussion, please send an e-mail describing your back-
ground to: <aids-econ@forumone.com>

The following welcome message from Lilani and Charlotte describes the 
scope of the discussion and some of the background materials available 
through the web site, including two new surveys on the use of cost-
effectiveness analysis. 

Welcome Message from the Discussion Moderators

This discussion will explore the use of cost-effectiveness analysis of 
HIV prevention strategies for priority-setting and resource allocation. 
This is a complex area, which raises many issues about the methods used 
to cost prevention activities, the techniques used to estimate the im-
pact of different interventions, and the interpretation of cost-
effectiveness ratios.

We are excited that the audience for this discussion is extremely var-
ied (including mathematicians, epidemiologists, economists, medical 
practitioners, members of AIDS service organisations, and public health 
practitioners), and comes from a range of countries world-wide.

>From our initial surveys we know that participants have a varied knowl-
edge or experience of the methods associated with obtaining cost effec-
tiveness estimates, and different perspectives on the role of cost-
effectiveness analysis for resource allocation. Over the next few 
weeks, we hope to demystify cost-effectiveness analysis. We hope to en-
courage debate around the role and use of cost-effectiveness, and en-
courage exchange between those developing tools to estimate the impact 
of different HIV prevention strategies; those who cost different 
strategies; and those who use (or would like to use) cost, impact and 
cost-effectiveness analysis in their work.

We hope that this opportunity to bring people together will be con-
structive and fruitful. From our own personal experience, we have found 
that working together as economist and mathematician/epidemiologist has 
at times raised challenges (too often our different disciplines use the 
same words to mean different things, and we may conceptualise the same 
problem in very different ways). However, it has also forced us to re-
consider how we think about and approach a problem, given us opportuni-
ties to obtain a greater understanding of the strengths and weaknesses 
of methodologies to estimate the cost-effectiveness of HIV prevention, 
and insights into possible use of cost-effectiveness in the planning, 
management and evaluation of HIV prevention activities.

Please scan the materials available on the site. We have posted up ab-
stracts (and where possible the full papers) of key readings that we 
hope you will find interesting, and interim summaries of the cost and 
modelling surveys that we have recently conducted. You can also access 
the UNAIDS guidelines on costing HIV prevention activities. We are also 
compiling a list of existing models that can be used to estimate the 
impact of different HIV prevention strategies. Where possible, we will 
make these available for you to try out and comment upon.

Over the next four weeks we will post up various topics for discussion, 
and provide background materials that we think you may find relevant. 
Please feel free to discuss and comment on the issues being raised by 
participants - your contribution will help determine how the discussion 
evolves, and whether the web-site discussion is a success.

We look forward to hearing your views.

Lilani Kumaranayake and Charlotte Watts
Discussion moderators
mailto:aids-econ@forumone.com


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