Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.52872/001c.26856

Dollar value of disability-adjusted life years in South Africa in 2019

Flavia Senkubuge
Charles Hongoro
Joses Muthuri Kirigia

Abstract

Background
To date, no study has estimated the dollar value of DALYs lost from a wide range of diseases and conditions in South Africa. The specific objectives of this study were: (a) to estimate the dollar value of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) lost in South Africa in 2019, and (b) to forecast the reductions in the dollar value of DALY losses assuming the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) five disease-specific targets are attained by 2030.

Methods
The study employs the human capital approach to convert the DALYs lost from all causes into their International Dollar (Int$)equivalents.TheDALYsdatausedintheanalysiswasfromtheInstituteforHealthMetricsandEvaluation(IHME)Database,percapitaGDPdatafromtheInternationalMonetaryFund(IMF)Database,andcurrenthealthexpenditureperpersonfromtheGlobalHealthExpenditureDatabaseoftheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO).ResultsSouthAfricalost26.6millionDALYsin2019withatotalvalueofInt$ 313.5 billion and an average value of Int$11,791.6perDALY.ApproximatelyInt$ 155.6 billion (50%) was attributed to communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNND); Int$120.4billion(38$ 37.4 billion (12%) to injuries (INJ). The health conditions related to SDG3 targets 3.1 (maternal mortality), 3.2 (neonatal mortality), 3.3 (CMNND), 3.4 (NCD) and 3.6 (INJ) resulted in DALY losses with a value of 256.4 billion, i.e. 82% of the total monetary value of DALYs lost in 2019. Therefore, achieving the five SDG targets would potentially save South Africa Int$ 139.7 billion per year.

Conclusions
Health development policy-makers should employ this type of evidence when making a case for increased investments into the national health-related systems to bridge the extant gap in the universal health service coverage index for South Africa.

Keywords

Hrčak ID:

262903

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/262903

Publication date:

27.5.2021.

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