Innovative approaches to HIV/AIDS financing: lessons learned from the Sustainable Financing Initiative (SFI)

Abstract

Introduction: As of 2018, domestic resources covered 56% of the total financing for the HIV/AIDS response in low- and middle-income countries (UNAIDS, AIDSInfo – Global data on HIV epidemiology and response, 2021). This has not been sufficient to close the financing gap as donor funding, such as PEPFAR, flatlines or declines in many countries. The Sustainable Financing Initiative (SFI) was a PEPFAR-funded, USAID-led initiative aimed at leveraging the rapid economic growth in many focus countries to increase domestic funding for HIV/AIDS.

Methods: SFI worked with ministries of health and finance, the private sector, and other critical stakeholders to implement innovative health financing solutions aimed at increasing domestic spending on HIV/AIDS. Three core areas were emphasized in SFI’s approach: improved public financial management, integration of HIV services into social health insurance schemes, and greater private sector engagement in the financing and delivery of HIV services. SFI supported these areas through advocacy, evidence generation, strategic engagement with country governments, the use of metrics to measure results, willingness to take measured risks, and the readiness to stop funding activities that did not yield results. Through new partnerships and ways of doing business, SFI worked to increase the efficiency and sustainability of the HIV response. A core principle underlying SFI was to make system changes that would lead to sustained long-term increases in domestic spending on HIV/AIDS.

Results: SFI invested PEPFAR funding across sixteen countries and two regional programs to leverage domestic resources for HIV/AIDS and improve approaches to health financing. With an investment of $47.8 million, SFI generated an estimated $393 million in domestic resources for HIV. Additionally, SFI interventions yielded significant results globally, generated lessons learned and made strides towards improving sustainability of HIV programming.

Conclusion: By implementing innovative approaches to HIV financing and how interventions are designed and implemented, PEPFAR funding can leverage additional resources from host-country governments and the private sector for a more sustainable HIV response.

Keywords: Financial protection; HIV/AIDS; HIV/AIDS financing; Health financing; Health systems strengthening; Sustainability.