National Mass Drug Administration Costs for Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination

Lymphatic filariasis (LF), commonly known as elephantiasis, is a profoundly disfiguring parasitic disease caused by thread-like nematode worms. This disease can often be disabling, thus reducing the potential productivity of the affected individuals. The WHO places the number of people at risk in 83 countries at 1.307 billion. This study was undertaken in seven countries—Burkina Faso, Ghana, Egypt, Tanzania, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti—using a common protocol to determine the costs of mass drug administration (MDA) programs to interrupt transmission of infection with LF, because there is lack of sufficient information about the costs of these programs. The results demonstrate that LF MDA is affordable and relatively inexpensive when compared to other public health programs. In the context of initiatives for integrating programs for the control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases, this study adds specifically to the relatively scarce body of information about the costs of MDA programs for LF. It also adds to the general knowledge about the application of methods that can be used to estimate the costs and cost-effectiveness of an integrated approach

MDA Activities and Other Cost Categories.

<p>MDA Activities and Other Cost Categories.</p

Financial Costs and Population Treated by Country and MDA Year.

<p>Financial Costs and Population Treated by Country and MDA Year.</p

Financial and Economic per Person Treated.

*<p>Adjusted for peso devaluation.</p

Sources of Funding for the MDAs Conducted by National LF Elimination Programs in Burkina Faso, Dominican Republic, Egypt, the Philippines and Tanzania (Financial Costs and Economic Costs).

<p>Sources of Funding for the MDAs Conducted by National LF Elimination Programs in Burkina Faso, Dominican Republic, Egypt, the Philippines and Tanzania (Financial Costs and Economic Costs).</p

Sources of Funding for LF Elimination Costs.

<p>Sources of Funding for LF Elimination Costs.</p

Costs by Activity – Percentage of Financial Costs for a ‘Non-Start-Up’ MDA Round.

1<p>Major expenditures for mapping activities predated the years covered by the cost studies.</p>2<p>Average of district and central levels.</p>3<p>Haiti and the Dominican Republic distributed training costs across the activities.</p>4<p>Governorate level.</p

Costs by Input – Percentage of Financial Costs for a ‘Non-Start-Up’ MDA Round.

<p>Costs by Input – Percentage of Financial Costs for a ‘Non-Start-Up’ MDA Round.</p

Classification of Costs.

<p>Classification of Costs.</p