Use of and Expenditures on Outpatient Health Care by a Group of HIV Positive Individuals in Rwanda. Special Initiatives Report No. 28

摘要

Nearly 11 percent of the Rwandan population is estimated to have HIV/AIDS, making this one of the most important health issues facing the country. To date, estimates of expenditures on HIV/AIDS in Rwanda have suffered from many shortfalls including the absence of a consistent methodology, reliance on secondary data analysis, and a lack of information on private out-of-pocket expenditures. Under the global Partnerships for Health Reform, a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development, for the first time the National Health Accounts framework and methodology is being used to estimate expenditures on HIV/AIDS in Rwanda. This methodology will address some of the shortfalls in earlier studies. This paper presents key findings from a survey of nearly 350 HIV-positive individuals who were either enrolled in a HIV/AIDS support group or sought care at four selected health facilities. The study examines their socio-demographic status, their use of and expenditures on health services, and how these expenditures were financed.