The economic consequences of malaria for households: a case-study in Nepal

Increased attention has recently been paid to the impact of illness on the well-being of households in developing countries. This has been a particular theme in the case of malaria, but relatively little evidence is available on how households react to malaria and on its impact on expenditure and time allocation patterns. This paper reports the results of a study designed to investigate the economic consequences of malaria for households in Nepal. A household survey of malaria cases in two districts provided information on use of various sources of treatment, their cost to households, time lost by the person with malaria, the extent to which others inside or outside the household provided assistance with the normal work of the malaria patient, the time spent caring for a child with malaria and any financial losses associated with the malaria episode. Out-of-pocket expenditure on treatment differed greatly between the two districts, for reasons associated with the choice of public or private sources of treatment and the number of visits made per episode. The majority of households appeared to cope without great difficulty with the reduction in labour supply caused by a malaria episode, by drawing largely on the time of adult family members. Caution is advised in extrapolating the results to other situations, given the extent to which local factors are likely to influence the impact on households. Moreover, the findings relate to a situation where a malaria control programme is in place: a relatively greater impact per household would occur in the absence of control. However, it is argued that such surveys have value in informing health policy, particularly in relation to setting priorities and treatment policy.