Economic cost analysis of malaria case management at the household level during the malaria elimination phase in The People’s Republic of China

Background:In China,malaria has been posing a significant economic burden on households.To evaluate malaria economic burden in terms of both direct and indirect costs has its meaning in improving the effectiveness of malaria elimination program in China.Methods:A number of study sites(eight counties in five provinces)were selected from the malaria endemic area in China,representing the different levels of malaria incidence,risk classification,economic development.A number of households with malaria cases(n=923)were surveyed during the May to December in 2012 to collect information on malaria economic burden.Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the basic profiles of selected malaria cases in terms of their gender,age group,occupation and malaria type.The malaria economic costs were evaluated by direct and indirect costs.Comparisons were carried out by using the chi-square test(or Z-test)and the Mann-Whitney U test among malaria cases with reference to local/imported malaria patients,hospitalized/out patients,and treatment hospitals.Results:The average cost of malaria per case was 1691.23 CNY(direct cost was 735.41 CNY and indirect cost was 955.82 CNY),which accounted for 11.1%of a household’s total income.The average costs per case for local and imported malaria were 1087.58 CNY and 4271.93 CNY,respectively.The average cost of a malaria patient being diagnosed and treated in a hospital at the county level or above(3975.43 CNY)was 4.23 times higher than that of malaria patient being diagnosed and treated at a village or township hospital(938.80 CNY).Conclusion:This study found that malaria has been posing a significant economic burden on households in terms of direct and indirect costs.There is a need to improve the effectiveness of interventions in order to reduce the impact costs of malaria,especially of imported infections,in order to eliminate the disease in China.

An Integrated Approach to Evaluate Benefits and Costs of Wastewater and Solid Waste Management to Improve the Living Environment: The Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia

Absence of wastewater and solid waste facilities impacts the quality of life of many people in developing countries. Implementation of these facilities will benefit public health, water quality, livelihoods and property value. Additional benefits may result from the potential recovery of valuable resources from wastewater and solid waste, such as compost, energy, phosphorus, plastics and paper. Improving water quality through implementation of wastewater and solid waste interventions requires, among others, an analysis of i) sources of pollution, ii) mitigating measures and resource recovery potentials and their effect on water quality and health, and iii) benefits and costs of interventions. We present an integrated approach to evaluate costs and benefits of domestic and industrial wastewater and solid waste interventions. To support a policy maker in formulating a cost and environmentally effective approach, we quantified the impact of these interventions on 1) water quality improvement, 2) resource recovery potential, and 3) monetized benefits versus costs. The integration of technical, hydrological, agronomical and socio-economic elements to derive these three tangible outputs in a joint approach is a novelty. The approach is demonstrated using the heavily polluted Indonesian Upper Citarum River in the Bandung region. Domestic interventions, applying simple (anaerobic filter) technologies, were economically most attractive with a benefit cost ratio (BCR) of 3.2, but could not reach target water quality standards. To approach the target water quality, both advanced domestic (nutrient removal systems) and industrial wastewater treatment interventions were required, leading to a BCR of 2. We showed that benefits from selling recovered resources represent here an additional driver for improving water quality and outweigh the additional costs for resource recovery facilities. While included benefits captured some of the major items, these may have been undervalued. Based on these findings, water quality interventions justify their costs and are socially and economically beneficial.

Optimal Cross-Sectional Shape of Gas/Air Ducts

In industrial plants, ships, and buildings, a large amount of gas and air ducts are applied for equipment connection, HVAC, medium transport, and exhaust, etc. These ducts can be designed in varied cross-sectional shapes, such as round or rectangle. The author reveals through geometric calculation of the duct cross-sectional shapes and engineering experiences that the round cross-section is an optimal shape in the duct system. The round duct has the shorter perimeter than the other cross-sectional shape ducts and the stronger structure in the same working condition. The material saving of the round duct due to the shorter perimeter is quantitatively determined. In the pater, it is shown that the round duct is economically attractive. The economic analysis for the material cost saving is illustrated by an example. For a long duct system, the material and material cost savings are significant. It is suggested that the round duct in the gas and air duct system should have priority as long as the field conditions are allowed. In the paper, the material cost saving is also converted to PW, AW, and FW used for LCC economic analysis.