Publication

Cost-of-illness of cholera to households and health facilities in rural Malawi

Authored by:

Ilboudo PG, Huang XX, Ngwira B et al.

Full Citation:

Ilboudo PG, Huang XX, Ngwira B et al. 2017. Cost-of-illness of cholera to households and health facilities in rural Malawi. PLOS One. 12(9).

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Additional key concepts from this publication:

Treatment of vaccine-preventable disease carries a heavy financial toll for health systems and for families.

Key Evidence: In rural Malawi, where medical care for cholera is free-of-charge, cholera still cost households, on average, US$66 in lost wages of the patient or caregiver and direct, non-medical costs, such as food and transportation. The direct cost to health facilities was $60 per case, twice as much as the 2016 per capita health budget for Malawi that year.

From the VoICE editors: Data on per capita health expenditures by country can be found in the WHO Health Expenditures database here: http://apps.who.int/nha/database/Select/Indicators/en

Families and caretakers may experience acute or lasting loss of wages associated with caring for a child ill with, or permanently disabled by, a vaccine-preventable disease.

Key Evidence: In rural Malawi, even though medical care for cholera is free-of-charge in the public sector, more than half of families had to borrow money or sell livestock or other assets to compensate for the lost wages of patients or caregivers and other costs (such as for food and transportation) incurred as a result of an episode of cholera.