Economics affects everyone and the economic impact of HIV/AIDS will take generations to unfold. Recent macroeconomic predictions have emphasized the concept of human capital, and predicted that much higher costs will be associated with the epidemic than earlier suggestions that economies might simply grow more slowly implied. At a firm or sector level AIDS increases the costs of doing business; impact studies at this level are therefore more important for planning. Impacts at household level are some of the most immediate and devastating, owing to the close relationship between households being affected by HIV/AIDS and subsequent impoverishment. The economic impacts of HIV/AIDS at each level will be modified through prevention and treatment interventions. The potential savings to governments through implementation of a programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission provide some of the most compelling evidence for action. However, health services are suffering under a dual burden of increased demand and reduced capacity to deliver, which contributes to a cycle of poor health and economic decline.