Willingness to Pay for HIV Prevention Commodities Points to Private Sector Opportunities

A new article examines the Willingness to Pay for HIV Prevention Commodities Among Key Population Groups in Nigeria. Published in Global Health: Science and Practice, the article presents the findings from a cross-sectional survey designed to explore factors that may determine willingness to pay for and use HIV prevention commodities.

Key population groups in Nigeria, such as female sex workers and men who have sex with men, rely on free HIV prevention commodities, including PrEP and HIV self-testing kits, provided through foreign aid. Key populations make up about 3.4 percent of the country’s total population and contribute about 32 percent of new HIV infections. A continued increase in risky behaviors among these sexually active population suggests the need for an expanded effort to ensure sustainable programming for HIV prevention commodities.

The nearly total reliance on donor funding for HIV prevention commodities is not sustainable, nor does it provide opportunities for the strengths of the private, commercial, and social marketing sectors to be harnessed. As a crucial first step in the total market approach process, market segmentation methods include exploring the willingness to use and pay for HIV prevention commodities among key segments of the population. This is a critical first step in developing strategies to maximize the use of free and subsidized commodities for key segments of the population, and to ensure efficiency and sustainability of HIV prevention programming in Nigeria.

JSI conducted the survey with key population groups in three states of Nigeria through the Total Market Approach Project. Of the participants surveyed, 73 percent were willing to pay for PrEP services, 81 percent were willing to pay for HIV self-testing, and 87 percent were willing to pay for condoms. Willingness to pay varied depending on the commodities and was associated with, among other variables, age, key population group, marital status, level of education, employment status, place of residence, average monthly income, and familiarity with the commodity in question.

The findings demonstrated that key population groups are willing to pay for HIV prevention commodities, but there is a need to institutionalize a system to bridge the gap between the maximum amount they are willing to pay and retail prices. If prices are reduced, the willingness to pay may result in high consumption, positive returns for the private sector, and a more sustainable public sector with a decreased reliance on donor funding.