Publication

The economic burden of childhood pneumococcal diseases in The Gambia

Authored by:

Usuf, E., Mackenzie, G., Sambou, S., et al

Full Citation:

Usuf, E., Mackenzie, G., Sambou, S., et al 2016. The economic burden of childhood pneumococcal diseases in The Gambia. Effectiveness and Resource Allocation. 14(4).

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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 a study in The Gambia – a setting where healthcare is free of charge to patients – pneumococcal disease nonetheless placed a heavy financial burden on families seeking treatment before arrival at the hospital, with families paying for transportation costs, drugs, diagnostic tests and even burial in the case of death. 50-80% of the cost of treating an episode of pneumococcal disease was born by the health system, which still left families to cover a cost up to 10 times their average daily household budget. In addition the estimated treatment cost for inpatient pneumonia of US$109 is nearly 4 times the annual per capita expenditure for health in The Gambia.