Brazil received international attention in 1996 when it guaranteed all citizens free access to antiretroviral drugs; today, it provides HIV treatment to approximately 115,000 people.
The government has greatly reduced treatment costs by negotiating lower prices with drug companies and by manufacturing generic versions of some drugs.
Brazil estimates that since 1996, its treatment program has reduced AIDS mortality rates by nearly 50 percent and opportunistic infections by 60-80 percent.
The government also estimates that its treatment program prevented nearly 360,000 hospital admissions from 1997-2001, resulting in savings of more than $1 billion.
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