[668] COSTS AND BENEFITS OF THE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR: THE EXPERIENCE OF BRARUDI, BURUNDI

2nd International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment

Paris, France - July 13 - 16, 2003

[TITLE:] COSTS AND BENEFITS OF THE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR: THE EXPERIENCE OF BRARUDI, BURUNDI

[AUTHOR(S):] L Gahimbaza¹, S Van Der Borght² and F Ngendakumana¹
¹Brarudi SA, Bujumbura, Burundi; and ²Heineken NV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

IAS Conf HIV Pathog Treat 2003 Jul 13-16;2nd: Abstract No. 668
Antiviral Therapy 2003; 8(Suppl. 1):S369

[ABSTRACT:] Background: Brarudi is one of the HEINEKEN breweries in Africa. It is located in Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world with a GNP of 130 USD per capita. The HIV seroprevalence is about 19.8% in the urban areas and 11.3 in the country as a whole. In Brarudi, the seroprevalence is estimated to be around 20%. Since September 2001, Brarudi, assisted by Heineken International has decided to give highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to the workers and their families with AIDS. This abstract presents some of the costs and benefits of the treatment, 18 months after the start of the programme.

Methods: We have made an cost calculation of the training fees, the costs of the drugs and the lab follow up. The benefits will be the decrease of hospitalizations for opportunistic infections, medical absenteism and the deaths caused by AIDS.

Results: Since the beginning of the program, 31 persons have started the treatment out of a population of 1,042 (597 workers + 445 spouses) Costs: The total amount was 58,288 Euros (47,207 for drugs, 7,927 for travel and training fees and 3,154 for lab follow-up). The year 2002, the increase of the medical expenses compared with 2001 was 5,233 Euros (adjusted for 20% of devaluation of the Franc Burundais). Benefits hospitalization for OI: an average of 20 hospitalizations per year (1997–2000), 10 in 2001 and only 6 in 2002 Deaths of workers by AIDS: 11 per year (1997–2000), 2 in 2001 and only 1 in 2002 Medical rest for OI: 640 in 2001 and 407 in 2002 Voluntary testing: an average of 13 per year (1997–2000), 123 in 2001 and 140 in 2002.

Lessons learned: The expenses incurred in such a programme are not high compared with the benefits, especially the decrease of the morbidity and mortality. They would normally not affect the financial result of a company very much.

Recommendations: In countries with limited resources, the public sector should consider the possibility of giving also antiretroviral therapy to the workers and/or their families.

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