Chile's Health Budget Facing Shortfall

HIV and AIDS cases are growing at an alarming rate in Chile, but the government may delay a public awareness and prevention campaign for another year because of financial shortfalls. The government's last far-reaching information campaign on HIV/AIDS was in 1997.

At the UN Special Assembly on HIV/AIDS in June, Minister of Health Michelle Bachelet pledged that the state would enact such a campaign within the year. The plans have been stalled, however, by a lack of resources. The growth in the value of the US dollar has had a negative impact on the purchasing power of hospitals, which must buy most of their supplies from outside the country. In addition, an extreme winter and an unexpected explosion in respiratory infections have crippled the country's health care system and burdened its meager resources. Its hospital supply budget deficit, $900,000, is roughly equal to the amount allocated for the prevention campaign. But Bachelet is not giving up. Plans continue, she said, for a communication strategy that targets high-risk groups. The government is also requesting free airtime for public service announcements on national TV and soliciting contributions from private medical insurance companies. Some insurance companies have expressed an interest in contributing, Bachelet said.

"The lack of HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns is costing many Chileans their lives," said Rodrigo Pascal, president of an AIDS support, lobbying and education group. "When you bombard people with information, you have an immediate effect." There are 8,000 reported AIDS cases in Chile, but the government estimates that more than 30,000 people have HIV. AIDS is already the second- leading cause of death among men ages 20 to 44 in Santiago. The Ministry of Health estimates that by 2005 some 5,000 Chileans will die annually of AIDS, and that by 2010 it will be the nation's leading cause of death.

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