TY - JOUR T1 - Author’s Response to Letter on “Willingness to Pay for HIV Prevention Commodities Among Key Population Groups in Nigeria” JF - Global Health: Science and Practice JO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-23-00005 VL - 11 IS - 1 SP - e2300005 AU - Olawale Durosinmi-Etti AU - Emmanuel Kelechi Nwala AU - Funke Oki AU - Akudo Ikpeazu AU - Emmanuel Godwin AU - Paul Umoh AU - Arome Shaibu AU - Alex Ogundipe AU - Abiye Kalaiwo Y1 - 2023/02/28 UR - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/11/1/e2300005.abstract N2 - See related articles by Adepoju et al. and Durosinmi-Etti et al.We would like to thank Adepoju et al.1 for recognizing that our study2 has advanced the understanding of self-reported willingness to pay (WTP) for HIV prevention commodities that could provide useful insights to help inform Nigeria’s HIV prevention policies and program planning for key populations. One of the key objectives of our study was to understand a reasonable price point that would ensure that the majority of the potential users could pay for HIV self-testing (HIVST) commodities and encourage market-shaping interventions that would help to improve access to the commodity. However, we disagree with the authors on several points.We recognized that the contingent valuation approach is prone to exaggerated responses.3 We did not offer HIVST kits to the participants who were prospective buyers, and we recognized that a difference could exist between stated and observed WTP for HIV prevention commodities. However, an observed demand for HIVST would be inappropriate in the setting and for the target population. At the time of our study, awareness about this commodity was yet poor,4 and the commodity was distributed free of charge to the populations of this study (i.e., female sex workers and men who have sex with men) through donor funding. Therefore, we aimed to understand if they would be willing to pay when the commodity was provided at a commercial price to ensure the sustainability of programming amid dwindling donor funding. Only when the HIVST kits (or hospital-based HIV screening) are no longer available free to respondents does an observed demand for HIVST become reliable. … ER -