Cost containment in a school deworming programme targeting over 2.7 million children in Vietnam.
Vietnam is one of the countries in the world most affected by soil-transmitted helminthiases. Large areas of the country, such as the Northern Uplands and the North and Central Coast, are reported as having infection rates of 75-85% for Ascaris lumbricoides, 38-40% for Trichuris trichiura and 27-28% for hookworm infections. Periodical deworming of schoolchildren is therefore strongly recommended. Managers of the Helminth Control Programme decided to apply a number of measures to improve cost efficiency in order to deworm as many schoolchildren as possible with the limited financial resources available. This low-cost intervention targeted over 2.7 million schoolchildren. Coverage was estimated at over 95% and the cost for each treated child was US$ 0.03, which represents a saving of approximately 50% of costs presently reported in the literature. This article describes the measures applied that resulted in cost containment but maintained high treatment coverage.
Montresor
Antonio
A
World Health Organization, 63 Tran Hung Dao, Hanoi, Vietnam. montresora@vtn.wpro.who.int
Cong
Dai Tran
DT
Le Anh
Tuan
T
Ehrhardt
Alexander
A
Mondadori
Elisa
E
Thi
Thach Dang
TD
Le Khanh
Thuan
T
Albonico
Marco
M
Palmer
Kevin L
KL
D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D003363:Cost Control; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012572:School Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D012987:Soil / Q000469:parasitology; D014744:Vietnam
D000871:Anthelmintics; D012987:Soil