UNAIDS 2025 Guidance - Practical methods for projecting the costs of national strategic plans for HIV and beyond

Sep 11, 2026

Uploaded by Adam

UNAIDS 2025 Guidance provides practical, adaptable methods for projecting the full resource needs of national strategic plans (NSPs) for HIV and beyond. It explains why costing is essential for evidence-informed, equitable, efficient and impactful planning, especially under constrained donor support and increasing domestic responsibility. The guide supports policymakers and technical teams in translating strategies into implementable budgets, strengthening transparency and accountability, and aligning projections with national priorities and health system improvement.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages148

Reading Time52 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

Chapter 1: Introduction

Purpose

What does it mean to cost an NSP?

How does the NSP fit into the planning and review cycle?

Brief history of strategic planning for a national HIV response

How does the HIV NSP costing guide align with other HIV and health intervention costing guidance?

Making cost projections: Science and art

Structure of the guide

Chapter 2: Using the workbook to track your progress

Record keeping

Using the workbook

Chapter 3: Collaboration in the costing process

Strategic planning team

Responsibilities of the costing team

Common challenges in the costing process

Timeline and steps of a costing exercise

Chapter 4: Design elements of an NSP cost projection exercise

Purpose

Perspective

Valuation of resource use

Full versus incremental costs

Consideration of real world deviations from normative patterns

UNAIDS 2025│ GUIDANCE Practical methods for projecting the costs of national strategic plans for HIV and beyond Foreword As global HIV and health financing faces unprecedented constraints, the need for countries’ strategic, evidence-informed planning has never been more critical. Costing national HIV strategic plans (NSPs) is not simply a technical exercise—it is a foundational step in ensuring that countries’ multisectoral HIV responses are evidence-informed, equitable, efficient, impactful, and aligned with national priorities. This guide responds to a growing demand for practical, adaptable methods to project the full resource needs of NSPs , offering tools transferable to broader health planning and a YouTube playlist with chapter specific training videos: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm24qjjmwsqq9hXI41OcLiM1ZZIla_r4P](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm24qjjmwsqq9hXI41OcLiM1ZZIla_r4P. The)[. The](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm24qjjmwsqq9hXI41OcLiM1ZZIla_r4P. The)[ ](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm24qjjmwsqq9hXI41OcLiM1ZZIla_r4P. The)accompanying excel workbook can be downloaded from the UNAIDS financial dashboard: [https://hivfinancial.unaids.org/NSP costing workbook.xlsx](https://hivfinancial.unaids.org/NSP costing workbook.xlsx). In an era of dramatic declines in donor support and increasing domestic responsibility for the HIV response and broader health, countries must be equipped to make informed decisions about how to allocate limited resources for maximum impact. Costing enables this by translating strategic and implementation plans into the resources needed to implement them and supporting advocacy for sustainable investment, systems and programme implementation. It also fosters transparency, consistency, and accountability across planning cycles. This guide empowers policymakers and technical teams alike to integrate costing into the heart of strategic planning—ensuring that all money spent advances health equity, strengthens systems, and delivers measurable results. As countries navigate complex health challenges, robust costing is not optional—it is essential. These guidelines were written through a sequence of reviews by members of the technical advisory committee and feedback from training participants. Jaime Atienza-Azcona, Director, Equitable Financing Ani Shakarishvili, Special Adviser, Integrated Systems and Services for HIV and Health Contents Foreword 3 Chapter 1: Introduction 4 1.1. Purpose 4 1.2. What does it mean to cost an NSP? 7 1.3. How does the NSP fit into the planning and review cycle? 7 1.4. Brief history of strategic planning for a national HIV response: Increasing focus on cost and efficiency 8 1.5. How does the HIV NSP costing guide align with other HIV and health intervention costing guidance? 9 1.6. Making cost projections: Science and art 11 1.8. Structure of the guide 13 References to Chapter 1 16 Chapter 2: Using the workbook to track your progress 17 2.1. Record keeping 17 2.2. Using the workbook 18 Chapter 3: Collaboration in the costing process 20 3.1. Strategic planning team 21 3.2. Responsibilities of the costing team 22 3.3. Common challenges in the costing process 22 3.4. Timeline and steps of a costing exercise 23 References to Chapter 3 28 Chapter 4: Design elements of an NSP cost projection exercise 29 4.1. Purpose 31 4.2. Perspective 33 4.3. Valuation of resource use: Financial or economic 35 4.4. Full versus incremental costs 35 4.5. Consideration of real world deviations from normative (best practice) patterns of resource use 36 References to Chapter 4 37 Chapter 5: Identifying and describing the interventions for cost projections 39 5.1. Achieving clearly described interventions and activities 39 5.2. Revising interventions 41 References to Chapter 5 47 Chapter 6: Choosing a method for estimating intervention unit cost 48 6.1. Methods for estimati

FAQs

Why is costing national HIV strategic plans (NSPs) considered critical?

Costing translates strategic and implementation plans into the resources needed to deliver them. It supports evidence-informed, equitable and efficient investment decisions, and improves transparency, consistency and accountability across planning cycles.

How does the guide help teams use the NSP costing workbook?

The guide provides practical instructions on tracking progress using the workbook. It covers record keeping and how to use the workbook throughout the costing process.

What approaches are covered for estimating intervention unit costs?

The guide outlines methods for estimating unit cost, including when to use alternative costing methods and how to tailor costing methods for use with modelling software.

Sep 11, 2026

Uploaded by Adam