In recent years, however, the country's incidence of new HIV infections has begun to decline, a drop confirmed by the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and other organizations. One of the reasons Uganda has been successful in lowering its rate of HIV infection has been a willingness to acknowledge the magnitude of its problem, according to Deborah McFarland, associate professor of health policy and management at the Rollins School of Public Health.
Openness pays dividends.
This is talk one would expect from a health economist, McFarland's specialty. She is an expert on the financing of health systems and has been instrumental in estimating the effects of user fees on the poor and in developing social insurance models. In terms of demand, the AIC has proven itself sustainable, McFarland says, seeing about 150 people each day in the Kampala branch. But the question remained whether individuals would be willing to pay for this service. Based on the findings, the AIC decided to initiate a small fee for the service, to enable the agency to decrease its support over time.