Poor quality antimalarial drugs responsible for 12,300 deaths and $892 million in costs annually in Nigeria, and if develops, the current costs could increase by 11 per cent, a study has said.
In a new study, researchers said that the northern regions of Nigeria have a greater burden as compared to the southern regions, with 9,700 deaths and $698 million in total economic losses annually due to substandard and falsified antimalarial drugs.
The 2019 study stated that possible interventions—such as removing stock-outs in all facilities, having only artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) available for treatment and 20 per cent more patients seeking care—can save hundreds of millions in costs annually in Nigeria. It is in the journal, PLoS One.
The researchers had developed a dynamic agent-based SAFARI (Substandard and Falsified Antimalarial Research Impact) model to capture the impact of antimalarial use in Nigeria. The total economic impact of malaria in Nigeria was estimated at $7.76 billion with $7.36 billion in productivity losses, including $4.1 billion in lifetime productivity losses and $3.08 billion in short-term productivity losses.
Up to 33 per cent of the direct costs of malaria treatment ($134 million) was paid out-of-pocket, whereas the health facility incurred the remainder of the costs ($267 million).
They said the difference between economic burden of malaria in the northern and southern regions can be explained by malaria transmission rates, with populations in the northern region at greater risk of malaria.