Malaria Foundation International - Economic Costs and Barriers to Development

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Economic Costs and Barriers to Development

Economic Costs and Barriers to Development

Over a quarter of a very poor family's income can be absorbed in the cost of malaria treatment, quite apart from the cost of prevention, or the opportunity cost of labour lost to illness.

Each bout of malaria causes its victim to forego, on average, 12 days of productive output.

Malaria infection can be chronic and unremitting in parts of the world with high transmission intensity, such as coastal Africa. Persons may receive hundreds of infectious mosquito bites a year, with the result they are perpetually weakened by the parasite. Children face particular risks.

People are most at risk of malaria during the warm and rainy seasons; this is usually when there is most agricultural work that needs to be done.

Malaria and fear of malaria prevents investment and tourism into new regions, further hampering economic development.

Malaria is estimated to cost Africa more than US$12 billion annually.

This information about malaria was presented as the Background Information Pack during the development of the Roll Back Malaria Program (See Malaria Advocacy - The Beginnings )