TITLE:
The Monetary Value of Disability-Adjusted-Life-Years Lost in the East African Community in 2015
AUTHORS:
Joses Muthuri Kirigia, Germano Mwiga Mwabu
KEYWORDS:
Disability-Adjusted-Life-Year (DALY), Gross Domestic Product, Monetary Value of DALY, East African Community
JOURNAL NAME:
Modern Economy,
Vol.9 No.7,
July
31,
2018
ABSTRACT: The East African Community (EAC) member states
(Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) incur annually a huge loss of
disability-adjusted life years (DALY) from communicable and non-communicable diseases and
injuries annually. This study estimated the monetary value of DALYs lost in the
EAC in 2015 without and with UN the health Sustainable Development Goal 3. The monetary value of DALYs lost in the EAC was
estimated by multiplying the estimated DALYs associated with different diseases
by GDP per capita net of health expenditures. The 82,017,651 DALYs lost in EAC
in 2015 had a monetary value of Int$ 203,843,476,166. About 58.2%
resulted from Communicable, maternal,
perinatal and nutritional conditions; 30.3% from non-communicable
diseases (NCDs); and 11.5% from injuries. Burundi incurred 2.8% of the total monetary value of
DALYs, Kenya 33.9%, Rwanda 4.2%, Tanzania 39.5%, and Uganda 19.6%. The EAC could save
approximately 31% of the total monetary value of DALYs lost if SDG 3 targets
are fully achieved. Therefore, EAC member states should invest adequately into
strengthening of national health systems and other systems that address social
determinants to ensure healthy lives and promotion of well-being for all people
at all ages.