TREATMENT OF DIARRHOEA IN INDONESIAN CHILDREN: WHAT IT COSTS AND WHO PAYS FOR IT

Abstract

The annual economic burden of diarrhoea in four subdistricts in Indonesia averaged $2·27 per child aged under 5 years when health centre, hospital, and private expenditures were all considered. The community itself spent $1·03 per child or 46% of the total; 96% of community payments went to the private sector, and 4% were for fees at government health centres and hospitals. The widespread availability of oral rehydration therapy has led to only partial abandonment of ineffective or marginally effective medications; non-rehydration medications amounted to 44% of total treatment expenditures. Most medication costs were for antimicrobial agents, such as tetracycline in the government sector and iodo-chlorhydroxyquin in the private sector. If the use of tetracycline at health centres could be restricted to 10% of episodes treated instead of the present 88%, their costs could be reduced by 50%. © 1985.