Implementing the Countrywide Mortality Surveillance in Action in Mozambique: How Much Did It Cost?

Abstract

Complete sample registration systems are almost inexistent in sub-Saharan Africa. The Countrywide Mortality Surveillance in Action (COMSA) project in Mozambique, a national mortality and cause of death surveillance system, was launched in January 2017, began data collection in March 2018, and covers over 800,000 population. The objectives of this analysis are to quantify the costs of establishing and maintaining the project between 2017 and 2020 and to assess the cost per output of the surveillance system using data from financial reports produced by the National Institutes of Health in Mozambique. The program cost analysis consists of start-up (fixed) costs and average annual operating costs covering the period of maximum implementation in 700 clusters. The cost per output analysis quantifies the annual operating cost of surveillance outputs during the same period. Approximately two million dollars were spent on setting up the system, with infrastructure, technological investments, and training making up over 80% of these start-up costs. The average annual operating costs of maintaining COMSA was $984,771 per year, of which 66% were spent on wages and data collection incentives. The cost per output analysis indicates costs of $37-$42 per vital event captured in the surveillance system (deaths, pregnancies, pregnancy outcomes), $303-$340 per verbal and social autopsy conducted on a reported death, and a per capita cost of $1-$1.3. In conclusion, establishing COMSA required large costs associated with infrastructure and technological investments. However, the system offers long-term benefits for real-time data generation and informing government decision-making for health.