Rethink HIV: Prevention of Non-Sexual Transmission of HIV Assessment, Bollinger

Assessment Paper

Most HIV infections caused by non-sexual transmission have proven cost-effective solutions to reduce and virtually eliminate transmission of new infections. Transmission of HIV through unsafe medical injections can be eliminated through the use of automatic disposable syringes, a relatively inexpensive intervention, along with appropriate waste disposal methods. Screening blood that is to be used in blood transfusions for HIV has been shown to be extremely cost-effective in a wide variety of settings. Preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV by providing antiretroviral drugs to both mother and child is also a cost-effective intervention, even when continued throughout the breastfeeding period in order to reduce transmission via breastfeeding. Finally, some interventions preventing transmission through needle-sharing behavior among injecting drug users (IDU) may be cost-effective, such as outreach programs including information and education campaigns, as well as needle and syringe exchange programs, although other programs such as opioid substitution therapy (OST) may not be cost-effective.

This paper will examine the cost-effectiveness of each of these proposed solutions for sub-Saharan Africa, using a variety of models across all of the relevant countries.    

Lori A. Bollinger, the Vice President at the Futures Institute authored the Assessment Paper on the topic of Prevention of Non-sexual Infection for Rethink HIV.

The working paper used by the Expert Panel is available for download here, the finalized paper has been published in the Rethink HIV book by Cambridge University Press.