NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, July 31, 2017

Malaria related health expenditures and lost productivity cost Africa’s economy an estimated US$12billion every year, a study has concluded.

The report further revealed the economic cost of malaria on Ghanaian businesses alone in 2014 was US$6,588,729. Between 2012 and 2014, sixty-two (62) businesses surveyed in Ghana lost equivalent to 3,913 workdays to malaria, it added.

The study was conducted by the Private Sector Malaria Prevention (PSMP), UK DFID-funded project implemented by Johns Hopkins Centre for Communication programmes. It indicated that malaria negatively impacts significantly on foreign direct investment, tourism, labour productivity, and commerce, stressing that “malaria imposes an enormous economic burden on families, communities and all African countries.”