Bridging the resource gap: improving value for money in HIV/AIDS treatment.

The world faces both near-term and potentially long-term shortfalls in funding for HIV/AIDS care and treatment. We review the current funding environment, then discuss a range of opportunities to optimize spending on HIV/AIDS. These include (but are not limited to) more use of specific technologies, such as fixed-dose combination drugs or new diagnostics, as well as investments that strengthen underlying health systems, such as expanding training enrollment of health care providers. We also examine the potential cost impact of these opportunities in a hypothetical country. Combined, these approaches can reduce the cost of treatment while preserving and in some cases improving quality.