220310 Brazilian STD / AIDS Programme: Expenditure on antiretroviral drugs and epidemic indicators during the period 2004-2008

Monday, November 8, 2010

Leila Garcia, PhD , Department of Social Policies Research, Institute for Applied Economic Research, Brasilia, Brazil
Adriana Pacheco, MSc , Department of Sectoral Studies, Institute for Applied Economic Research, Brasilia, Brazil
Luis Magalhaes, PhD , Department of Sectoral Studies, Institute for Applied Economic Research, Brasilia, Brazil
Carolina Santos , Department of Sectoral Studies, Institute for Applied Economic Research, Brasilia, Brazil
Raquel Almeida , Department of Sectoral Studies, Institute for Applied Economic Research, Brasilia, Brazil
Background The Brazilian STD/AIDS Programme stands out for ensuring universal and free access to antiretroviral drugs. This paper aims to estimate the Federal expenditure on antiretroviral drugs of the Brazilian STD/AIDS Programme, during the period 2004-2008, and compare it to epidemic indicators of the Brazilian population. Methods The expenditure on antiretroviral drugs comes from a data warehouse of the Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management that stores the information concerning any purchase made by the Brazilian Federal Government. The epidemiological indicators of AIDS are derived from the Brazilian STD/AIDS Programme, which combines data from different national information systems. Results The expenditure on antiretroviral drugs rose from US$ 144.416.113,57 in 2004, to US$ 333.050.295,64, in 2008. In Brazil, from Jan/2004 to Jun/2008, there were 148.852 cases of AIDS reported, which corresponds to an incidence rate of approximately 20 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. In the period from 2004 to 2007 there were 44.381 deaths due to AIDS in Brazil, representing a crude mortality ratio of about 6 deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants. Conclusion The use of antiretroviral drugs increases the survival of patients with HIV/AIDS and reduces the mortality rate. Despite the stability of AIDS incidence and mortality coefficients over the analyzed period, the expenditure increased, which can be due to an increase in coverage and range of drugs offered. As the resources are limited, it is important to understand the magnitude of the consumption as well as the mechanisms of purchase in order to improve the supply of antiretroviral drugs.

Learning Areas:
Biostatistics, economics
Epidemiology
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Analyse the Brazilian STD / AIDS Programme expenditure on antiretroviral drugs during the period 2004-2008 Describe selected HIV / AIDS epidemic indicators for the Brazilian population Discuss the impact of the policy that ensures universal and free access to antiretroviral drug terapy in Brazil

Keywords: Health Care Politics, Epidemiology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have participated in the study design, research, data analysis and manuscript writing
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.