Evaluating the treatment costs for uncomplicated malaria at a public healthcare facility in Nigeria and the implications : cost of malaria treatment

Background: Accurate information on the facility costs of treatment is essential to enhance decision making and funding for malaria control. Objective: To estimate the costs of providing treatment for uncomplicated malaria through a public health facility in Nigeria. Methods: Hospital costs were estimated from a provider perspective, applying a standard costing procedure. Capital and recurrent expenditures were estimated using an ingredient approach combined with step-down methodology. Costs attributable to malaria treatment were calculated based on the proportion of malaria cases to total outpatient visits. The costs were calculated in local currency, and converted to the US Dollars at the 2013 exchange rate. Results: Total annual costs of N28.723 million (US$182,953.65), was spent by the facility for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria, at the rate of US$31.49 per case, representing approximately 25% of the hospital total expenditure in the study year. Personnel accounted for over 82.5% of total expenditure, followed by antimalarial medicines at 6.6%. Over 45% of outpatients visits were for uncomplicated malaria. Changes in personnel costs, drug prices and malaria prevalence significantly impacted on the study results, indicating the need for improved efficiency in the use of hospital resources. Conclusion: Malaria treatment currently consumes a considerable amount of resources in the facility, driven mainly by personnel cost and a high proportion of malaria cases. There is scope for enhanced efficiency to prevent waste and reduce costs to the provider and ultimately the consumer