The total costs associated with providing ARVs would be substantial in absolute terms (Table 4). However, it is important to consider these costs in the context of available resources. Table 5 below illustrates how the total costs derived in 2. compare with GDP, health sector expenditure, and National AIDS Budgets in the different geographic regions
[5]. The lower estimate represents the situation illustrated in Table 4 in which 50% of those eligible receive AZT therapy at the lowest estimated annual cost of AZT therapy (US$3 570 per patient); the higher estimate represents the situation illustrated above in which 100% of those eligible receive triple-combination therapy at the highest estimated annual cost for such therapy (US$13 902 per patient).Table 5: Estimated Total Annual Cost for ARV Therapy as a percentage of GDP, Health Sector Expenditures, and National AIDS Budgets by Geographic Region
| Geographic Region | Estimated Annual Cost of ARV Therapy as % 1991 GDP | Estimated Annual Cost of ARV Therapy as % 1990 Total Health Expenditures | Estimated Annual Cost of ARV Therapy as % National AIDS Budgets |
| North America | 0.03 to 0.2 | 0.2 to 1.8 | 31 to 243 |
| Western Europe | 0.02 to 0.1 | 0.2 to 1.9 | 1 136 to 8 727 |
| Oceania | 0.01 to 0.1 | 0.15 to 1.3 | 57 to 500 |
| Latin America | 0.1 to 1 | 3.1 to 23.9 | 93 to 720 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 8.6 to 66.9 | 215 to 1 673 | 258 750 to 2 017 500 |
| Caribbean | 1.9 to 14.8 | 48.1 to 370 | 92 857 to 714 286 |
| Eastern Europe | 0.006 to 0.04 | 0.15 to 1 | 750 to 5 000 |
| SE Mediterranean | 0.02 to 0.1 | 0.4 to 3.5 | 2 400 to 20 000 |
| Northeast Asia | 0.007 to 0.06 | 0.2 to 1.5 | 300 to 2 400 |
| Southeast Asia | 1.9 to 14.6 | 46.8 to 364 | 16 571 to 128 857 |
These figures suggest that ARV therapy would be unaffordable in sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America, but could be considered in other regions where total costs would be less than 1% of GDP and less than 4% of health sector expenditure even for the very expensive combination therapies. Overseas Development Assistance for HIV/AIDS, estimated at
US$ 257 million in 1993 (Laws, 1996), is also too small to change this conclusion.
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