Abstract: 
The incidence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in sub-Saharan Africa remains high despite expanded access to biomedical prevention and treatment. While transactional sex and alcohol use are among the leading drivers of HIV/STI risk, interventions that target these risk factors have largely focused on women rather than men. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with 1,500 men in Kenya to evaluate whether a savings intervention could promote savings, reduce spending on alcohol and transactional sex, and decrease HIV/STI incidence. Participants in the intervention group received savings accounts with monthly lottery prizes, along with goal-setting support and savings reminders. Over 24 months, the intervention substantially increased formal bank savings and non-financial savings. It also led to sizable reductions in risk behaviors, decreased spending on alcohol and transactional sex, as well as large reductions in intimate partner violence. Although the overall reduction in HIV/STI incidence due to the intervention (8%) was not statistically significant, effects were larger among higher-risk subgroups. Savings interventions can meaningfully reduce HIV/STI risk behaviors among men and complement existing biomedical HIV prevention strategies. 

About the presenter: 
Harsha Thirumurthy is the Founders Professor of Population Health and Chief of the Division of Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Co-Director of the Behavioral Economics and Global Health Insights Lab and a Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. Professor Thirumurthy earned his Ph.D. in economics from Yale University. His interests lie at the intersection of economics and public health. Over the past 20 years, he has led large-scale studies that use non-experimental methods to evaluate health and economic policies and also led numerous randomized trials of behavioral interventions to improve health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. In 2020, Professor Thirumurthy co-founded the Indlela unit, a behavioral economics research and capacity strengthening initiative at Wits University. He is currently visiting the University of Cape Town as a SALDRU Research Affiliate while on sabbatical at the University of Pennsylvania.