THE ECONOMIC BURDEN OF ILLNESS FOR HOUSEHOLDS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A REVIEW OF STUDIES FOCUSING ON MALARIA, TUBERCULOSIS, AND HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS/ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME

Ill-health contributes to impoverishment, a process brought into sharper focus by the impact of the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic. This paper reviews studies that have measured the economic costs and consequences of illness for households, focusing on malaria, tuberculosis (TB), and HIV/AIDS. It finds that in resource-poor settings illness imposed high and regressive cost burdens on patients and their families. Direct and indirect costs of illness for malaria were less than 10% of the household income, but still significant when combined with the costs of other illnesses. The costs of TB and HIV/AIDS were catastrophic for households (more than 10% of the…