In 2012, the Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program carried out a study that concluded there was a USD 2.5 million financial gap for providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) to 22,440 patients who were hoped to be covered in 2013. This estimate included an expanded security stock that would avoid scarcities caused by delays in purchases or shipments. The presentation and discussion of this study with authorities and specialists from the Ministry of Public Health (Ministerio de Salud Pública, or MSP), the National Council on HIV/AIDS (Consejo Nacional del VIH/SIDA, or CONAVIHSIDA), and international aid agencies allowed the referenced financial gaps to be closed by means of better price negotiation with international suppliers and the first-time allocation of USD 1.9 million for the purchase of ARVs in the MSP budget. In 2013 only USD 350,000 was required from PEPFAR to cover shortages in supplies.
