This report aims to inform and help ARV treatment programmes procure low-cost, quality ARVs effectively and efficiently. It is particularly geared toward ministries of health, national programme managers, national pharmaceutical authorities, public and private health providers, international, national and regional drug procurement agencies, NGOs, charity organizations, and any other organizations or individuals engaged in procuring ARVs in resource-poor settings.

Based on MSF's experience over the past two years, the report outlines the major parameters that ARV procurement agents need to consider. Ten country case reports illustrate how challenges were, and continue to be, overcome in specific contexts.

Those looking for a ready-made step-by-step guide may be disappointed, though: as the country cases show, there is no single or ideal approach to ARV procurement. Rather there are several effective strategies that result in the supply of affordable, quality ARVs. These need to be adapted as the international, regional and national environment evolves.