The right to survive

Abstract

Abstract by author:

The analysis of the empirical findings is based on the Structure-Conduct-Performance model. This model has been chosen because it provides a good over- view over the different factors that influence the access

In Namibia around 20 percent of the population is infected with HIV and only a small part of thesepeople have access to antiretroviral-drugs (ARV-drugs), a life prolonging treatment for people living with HIV. Most of the people currently on treatment are part of the government treatment program, where the government is covering the cost of the treatment. Very few people in Namibia can afford to pay for the treatment themselves

There is lot that can be done to improve the competition on the Namibian market. The number of sellers could be higher and there are also entry barriers that could be removed in order to decrease the price. But the fact is that even if the prices were lower most people would not be able to afford the treatment by themselves anyway. Instead it seems more important to lower other costs connected to the treatment. Because of the stigma connected to HIV/Aids in Namibia many people do not consider it worth taking the risk of disclosing their HIV-status and therefore they do not seek treatment. The stigma and the lack of information appear to be the two major reasons to why people do not go for treatment. Many people do not know that treatment exists. Many people are also forced to travel long distances to the hospitals which also results in high general costs

A consequence of these factors is that there is no significant demand for the ARV-drugs. A higher demand would put more pressure on the government to make treatment more available. There seems to be a need for some sort of pressure group who could force the government to speed up the process of increasing the access to treatment. However, it is doubtful if the government will be able to keep on providing treatment for those who need it. This will require enormous resources that the government does not have. When people instead of dying in HIV/Aids will keep on constituting a cost for the healthcare system, because of the treatment, this will increase the amount of resources needed even further. Therefore it is important that everybody within the society takes their responsibility to make the treatment more available