BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Sexual risk behavior and preconceptions about HIV/AIDS remain a significant problem in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Indonesia. Religious based HIV/AIDS education can be used to increase the knowledge of HIV/AIDS of the general population. The Imam educates his/her visitors about HIV/AIDS, thereby reducing risk behavior and stigma. To allow policy makers to make evidence-based decisions about prioritizing between various interventions focused on HIV/AIDS, it is important to calculate the costs of this intervention.METHODS:The costs were calculated for the city Bandung, Indonesia over a period of a year (January 2015 -December 2015). The data were collected in April and May 2016 and obtained by interviews with experts and records from KPA Bandung (the organization coordinating the intervention). In this intervention, KPA Bandung gives annual trainings to 60 Imams on how to educate visitors about HIV/AIDS. In turn, the Imams educate their visitors during the religious gathering.RESULTS:The cost falling on KPA Bandung for coordinating this intervention were US$387 per year. The largest cost components were the capital training cost (41%) and the recurrent personnel cost (35%). The total societal costs were US$1963 per year for 60 mosques and 1200 visitor. The largest cost components of the societal costs were the building cost for the mosques (27%) and the recurrent personnel cost for the Imams (40%).CONCLUSIONS:The costs for KPA Bandung are low, so it is important to consider scaling up the training from one time per year to two times per year. In addition, it would be significant to determine the effectiveness of the intervention.
Reducing Stigma through Household–Based HIV/AIDS Education in Ghana: A Case for Behavioural and Attitudinal Change
