The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a fixed dose combination of Tenofovir–Lamivudine–Dolutegravir (TLD) to treat HIV/AIDS as it is more effective and has fewer side effects, which results in fewer patients dropping out of treatment. Thanks to advocacy efforts by USAID and other partners, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health granted a Marketing Authorization for TLD last October, allowing PEPFAR and the Global Fund to immediately start a small number of patients on TLD. However, to meet treatmentment needs and include this superior HIV drug regimen in the Government of Vietnam’s SHI program, further documentation is required. To help address these requirements, USAID recently completed a cost effectiveness and budget impact analysis of TLD inclusion in SHI. The analysis shows that TLD is both less expensive and more effective than the current antiretrovirals included under SHI. The inclusion of the TLD regimen would likely result in a decrease of total SHI reimbursement for HIV treatment costs.

So what? The results from this budget impact analysis will be used to advocate to Vietnamese policymakers to expedite the procedures for adding TLD to the drug list, which will allow SHI to procure TLD for distribution to a majority of the country’s HIV patients on treatment.