When national governments or global health funders have to decide whether to subsidize a new medical technology (a new vaccine, a new AIDS medication, a new clinical pathway), some ask whether the new technology is “cost-effective”, that is, whether the health gains from the introduction of the new technology outweigh the health given up or foregone as other activities are displaced to accommodate the additional costs.
As governments across the world expand population access to health care, they are feeling the pressure of rising costs. According to the IMF, emerging economies will spend an additional 1.5 percentage points of GDP on health care over the next 20 years, most of which will come from excess cost growth – defined as health care cost growth related to new medical technologies and income growth, rather than aging.
Christmas came early this year for the wonkiest of PEPFAR-watchers. Our gift: the preliminary report on the pilot of PEPFAR’s Expenditure Analysis Initiative, an important and exciting move by PEPFAR towards evidence-based decision making and greater transparency.
This week AP reports that former U.S. President George Bush has launched the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon project in Zambia. The project will expand the availability of cervical cancer prevention, screening and treatment, including the HPV vaccine, by building on the PEPFAR platform for HIV care.