COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MATLAB MCH-FP PROJECT IN BANGLADESH

The cost-effectiveness of a set of MCH and FP activities in Matlab, a rural area in Bangladesh, was examined using simplified methods. They looked only at the recurrent cost incurred by the provider on service delivery. Cost-effectiveness was measured separately for each intervention. Cost per death averted and cost per birth averted were measured with respect to a comparison area using cause-specific death and birth rates, respectively. Incremental cost and average cost were also measured for some activities. It was found that among the nine service activities, EPI has moved closer to satiety level and, therefore, the cost involved in this intervention has tended to move upwards. Among other interventions, family planning, control of ARI and control of dysentery appear to have generated relatively high cost-effectiveness, either by way of decreasing incremental cost or with the achievement of low average costs. One implication of the findings is the necessity to reorganize the activities which have already come close to satiety level, by way of restructuring the present resource allocation pattern.