AIDSCAP policy dialogue in Honduras: establishing the politics of prevention. Policy profile.

Two meetings were held in August 1993 in Honduras to deliver results of assessments of the potential impact of HIV/AIDS in Tegucigalpa the capital (where 12% of adults may be infected with HIV by 2000) and San Pedro Sula Hondurass largest industrial city (where 17% of adults are expected to be infected) and to spark a national dialogue about the need to slow the spread of the epidemic. The economic impact will be great because most of those affected will be workers 20-30 years old. AIDS treatment costs families approximately 14 months of an average Hondurans income and AIDS illness and premature death diminishes an individuals potential income by almost two-thirds. The tools used in the Honduran analysis by AIDSCAP were mathematical modeling of the epidemic economic impact assessments and creation of policy dialogue. AIDSCAP trained Ministry of Health employees to gather data which were modeled using the computer programs EIPMODEL DemProj and AID. Data were presented in a way to stimulate dialogue among policy makers the media and international donors. Initial meetings were chaired by the president and first lady of Honduras and this initial dialogue led to the creation of CONALSIDA (Comision de Alto Nivel de Apoyo en La Lucha Contra el SIDA) a high-level AIDS policy-making body to be chaired by the first lady. This generated extensive coverage in the newspapers and on television news and talk shows. Because this initial effort will not sustain development of the necessary positive policy environment AIDSCAP is developing ways to disseminate the information to a wider audience.