HIV/AIDS is among the world’s most devastating diseases. In the last 25 years, 65 million people have been infected with HIV and 25 million have already died. Thanks to billions of dollars of funding, international cooperation, and scientific progress, global AIDS deaths have been declining since 2005. Nevertheless, with an estimated 2.7 million new infections in 2007, HIV/AIDS remains far from being controlled and requires substantial scale ups in the global response.

Given the limits on available resources and competing needs for other health problems, making available HIV/AIDS funding work efficiently and synergistically with the rest of the health system are critical needs. This session seeks to use empirical studies within and across low and middle income countries to examine current programs and inform the design of future programs.

First, beginning with recent history in a country with substantial international HIV/AIDS funding, Shepard et al. will examine how HIV/AIDS funding in Rwanda has affected other health services over the past 6 years. On balance, spill over effects appear favorable. Second, looking across countries, Zeng et al. will compare the performance of national AIDS programs among countries. Third, looking forward McGreevey et al. examine how the International Health Partnership (IHP+) is deliberately trying to build favorable synergies across 8 countries. Finally, Hecht et al. will examine long term projections of resource needs under alternative scenarios through the year 2031.

Overall, this session will contribute to an understanding of performance of HIV/AIDS programs within and across countries, and using those findings to inform the design and financing of HIV/AIDS programs over the coming decades.