I probably should have said more about cash transfers. A colleague of mine has done a lot of work on this in Mexico. One of his studies used what are called conditional economic incentives to get male sex workers to come in regularly for counseling and testing, insist on condom use, and get access to drug treatment and employment services. It was quite successful. The Mexican government also has a cash incentive program that pays families for keeping their kids in school and other prosocial behaviors. There are many similar programs in Africa. When poor people get money, they generally use it for beneficial purposes, and it actually makes it easier for people to get legitimate work, and education. Many people engage in sex work occasionally out of desperation. If they have more resources, they don't do it.
For people who are HIV+, incentives are used to improve medication adherence, which also prevents transmission and again, gives them more opportunities to create a healthy environment for themselves.
Programs of this sort always encounter political resistance, which is unfortunate because they are effective.
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