HIV treatment in Belgium costs patients €1,000 a month

The amount of money spent on HIV inhibitors and other drugs for managing the disease weigh heavily on patients with HIV in Belgium, report various Belgian media based on research by the University of Hasselt and the AIDS Reference Centre of Ghent University Hospital.

"It is the first time in Belgium that this specific data has become available," said professor Dominique Vandijck of Hasselt University, who led the research. "We looked at a total of 235 people with HIV, and took an estimate of all their expenses associated with the antiretroviral therapy, which consists of a combination of drugs to maximally suppress the HIV virus. Finally we arrived at an average of €34.25 spent per patient per day, or about €1,027 per month.”

Unfavourable family situations and side effects can drive costs even higher, especially for patients who are single or divorced, unfit for work or come from a lower socio-economic background, according to Vandijck: "Our findings show the importance of encouraging the use of cheaper generic drugs, as well as the social integration of people with HIV."