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Examining the Role of the Private Sector in HIV Prevention and Treatment: Focus on Financing and Utilization

Recently, there has been an unprecedented increase in financing the HIV/AIDS response, driven by three major funders: the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), and the World Bank Multi-country AIDS Program. This donor influx—totaling more than $10 billion in 2007—has played an essential role in expanding access to lifesaving ART (UNAIDS 2008). A relatively unexamined aspect of the global response to HIV/AIDS is the role of the private sector. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the private health sector is active in a wide range of HIV/ AIDS areas such as counseling and testing (CT), sexually transmitted infection (STI) and TB treatment, and provision of ART. The private sector also plays a role in financing HIV/AIDS services (e.g., through private companies or household out-of-pocket (OOP) payments).