[Original post on Results for Development ]

Last month’s International AIDS Economics Network (IAEN) Preconference in Durban (July 15-16, 2016) demonstrated the strong political will to prioritize financing and harness economics to sustain the global HIV response and end AIDS.

What a long way we have come since we first met in Durban 16 years ago. With high-level participation by ministers of health from Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, along with the heads of UNAIDS and PEPFAR and experts from the CDC and the World Bank, this gathering demonstrated the strong political will to prioritize financing and economics to sustain the global HIV/AIDS response and to end the AIDS pandemic.  At the policy level, a high-level panel discussed how evidence generated by economists can help facilitate engagement between the ministries of health and treasury and with civil society to keep health and HIV as a top priority in many countries. They also reminded us that investment cases should be made alongside human rights cases. These messages were echoed throughout the main conference. Full summary here >