With almost half the world's population, Asia will determine the future of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. There is a significant risk of a large-scale HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region. And many countries have already begun the fight: lessons have been learned in various contexts, including experiences from Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Governments, civil society, and other partners are key players in this response. However, with new methods of funding, issues of capacity, and an evolving epidemic, responses must take into account five key challenges: political...

Private voluntary health insurance already plays an important role in the health sector of many low and middle income countries. The book reviews the context under which private insurance could contribute to an improvement in the financial sustainability of the health sector, financial protection against the costs of illness, household income smoothing, access to care, and market productivity. This volume is the third in a series of in-depth reviews of the role of health care financing in providing access for low-income populations to needed health care, protecting them from the impoverishing...

HIV is the leading cause of premature death in Thailand. Since the first case of AIDS was reported in 1984 more than one million Thais have been infected. The social, human and economic costs of this burden are enormous. The Thai government has shown a strong commitment to providing care and support to persons living with HIV/AIDS by launching the National Access to Care Program (NAPHA) in 2003, which provides for publicly financed antiretroviral therapy (ART) to all HIV-infected people. This book documents through interviews how ART has radically changed the lives of those living with HIV....