On April 20, 2009, the World Bank’s InfoShop launched a discussion on the new book, AIDS: Is it a Risk to Economic Development in Regions with Low HIV Prevalence? The book, edited by two World Bank specialists, provides an analysis about HIV/AIDS as a development issue in the South Asian region where there is low HIV prevalence and concentrated epidemics. The event was moderated by Julie McLaughlin, Sector Manager of the South Asia Region’s (SAR) Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank.
Mariam Claeson, Program Coordinator for the World Bank’s South Asia Region AIDS team opened the discussion by presenting the motivation behind the study. The three major factors leading to the study dealt with HIV prevention dynamics, the economic and social impacts of HIV/AIDS, and the fiscal burden of HIV/AIDS in the health sector. The study revealed significant epidemics are unfolding among vulnerable groups in the region-- sex workers, men having sex with men (MSM), and infected drug users (IDU). Other points of analysis dealt with the economic welfare costs of infected populations, in addition to the success of prevention programs in Cambodia, Thailand, and the Southern India.
Mead Over, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development gave an overview of the economics of the regions’ AIDS treatment. In contrast to the dramatic negative impact per capita GDP growth in Africa, Over suggested there is a universal belief that the epidemic will not share similar macroeconomic effects in South Asia. Robert Clay, Director of the HIV/AIDS Office for UNAIDS elaborated on the case of India, where he noted key observations such as the poverty level, the concentrated epidemic within IDU’s, MSM’s, the overstretched health system, and private health care, and population migrations.
Director of the Global AIDS Unit and the World Bank Debrework Zewdie, provided a summarization of the study and the dialogue. The session concluded with a question and answer period with the panelists and participating attendees.
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