DOT for HAART
Abstract VII
 



Edmonton DOT for HAART III:
Lobbying for sustainable funding as a challenging but critical aspect of effective inner city HIV management
 Bill Steinberg*, Roger Millard, Peter Akai

DOT for HAART

Projects that obtain sustainable funding should be able to stand on their own merit. DOT for HAART has emerged as a cost saving project for effective management of HIV infection in a vulnerable inner city population.

Objective: To present a successful model for procuring sustainable funding.

Method: The strategic plan to convince major financial providers involved six crucial steps:

  1. A program designed to closely meet the unique needs of its clients.
  2. Sufficient resources specifically allocated to evaluate the program and market successful results.
  3. Establishment of suitable outcome measures to clearly demonstrate program benefits.
  4. Meticulous data collection to evaluate these outcomes.
  5. Judicious efforts to establish personal connections and raise the community profile of the project and the issue it represents.
  6. Appropriate and timely presentation of results to leaders and financial planners who have the authority to act.

The challenge was therefore not only to create an effective program but to convince financial planners of sufficient returns for their investment.

Result: By following this funding model DOT for HAART procured a rare opportunity to present to the Standing Policy Committee on Health and Wellness, composed of the Minister of Health and other ministers and members of the Alberta legislature. This resulted in the Minister of Health favourably referring this program to the Capital Health Authority for further consideration regarding sustainable funding.

Conclusion: Emphasising only the human side of an enterprise is not always sufficient for obtaining sustainable funding. It is also necessary to demonstrate cost-effectiveness. This presentation will discuss how to blend these two themes together. Paradoxically, without sufficient funding to manage HIV infection this disease threatens to bankrupt our health care system.