Innovation in Namibia: preserving private health insurance and HIV/AIDS treatment.
Namibia, a lower-middle-income country in sub-Saharan Africa, suffers from a huge HIV/AIDS burden. An influx of donor funding in 2004-2007 increased support for publicly provided HIV care and treatment. This raised concern that private funding would be "crowded out," thereby leading to a reduction in the overall resources used to treat patients. In 2006 the Namibian medical aid industry, with donor support, created a special fund to subsidize private health insurance, including HIV/AIDS services. The program allowed both low- and higher-income people to be covered. Crowding out valuable private resources was avoided and the quality of HIV/AIDS services improved.
Schellekens
Onno P
OP
PharmAccess Foundation in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. o.schellekens@pharmaccess.org
de Beer
Ingrid
I
Lindner
Marianne E
ME
van Vugt
Michele
M
Schellekens
Peter
P
Rinke de Wit
Tobias F
TF
de Wit
Tobias F Rinke
TF
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000517:prevention & control; D037921:Gift Giving; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics*; D009276:Namibia; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D017149:Private Sector; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors