Abstract
A project on maternal and child health (MCH) was conducted by the Korea International Cooperation Agency to reduce maternal and child mortality rates in Kwango, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the costs and benefits of the MCH project, which was under Official Development Assistance for a period of 3 years from 2014 to 2016. The study conducted a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) using a benefit-cost ratio (BCR). The costs were the total costs incurred in implementing the MCH project. The benefits of the MCH project were estimated as the monetary values of the reduction in maternal mortality rates and the mortality rates of infants and children aged under 5 years. The adjusted costs that converted the time value for 2016 were estimated as USD 1,969,532 as part of the CBA. The benefits of reduced maternal mortality and the mortality of infants and children aged under 5 years were estimated as USD 681,416, USD 4,332,376, and USD 1,710,184, respectively, in monetary terms. The total benefits were estimated as USD 6,723,976 and the BCR was calculated at 3.41. In addition, the benefits were estimated by the different economic assumptions through a sensitivity analysis. The MCH project was economically satisfied under the most conservative assumptions.
Highlights
Maternal health is at the core of public health in that prioritizing it can prevent diseases and disabilities among mothers and children well in advance, especially when the policy targets pertain to developing countries
The expenditure incurred by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) included medical devices and materials and the construction of community health centers, hospitals, and the Maternal and Newborn Child Healthcare Unit (MNU)
This study included all costs incurred in implementing the maternal and child health (MCH) project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (Table 1)
Summary
Maternal health is at the core of public health in that prioritizing it can prevent diseases and disabilities among mothers and children well in advance, especially when the policy targets pertain to developing countries. Approximately 287,000 women have died and about 5.7 million people have suffered from illnesses or disabilities due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth in 2010. Against this backdrop, the project for capacity building on maternal, newborn, and child health care in the Kwango provincial division of health in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was carried out by the
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