Thread by @cwae_aaea

#ThrowbackThursday Tomorrow is #WorldMosquitoDay! In anticipation of that, a thread on "A review of the economic impact of malaria in agricultural development" by Asenso-Okyere et al (2011) #mosquitochat

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.111…

The paper surveys the linkages between malaria and agriculture, focusing on the economic impacts of the disease. In the developing world, especially in Africa, malaria is the disease that has the most widespread impacts on growth and development. #mosquitochat

"Economists have attempted to put an economic value on the burden of malaria by measuring the impacts on (a) households, (b) health systems, and (c) national economies. At the household level, malaria imposes both direct and indirect costs." #mosquitochat

Direct costs include:
- time lost from work
- medical treatment
Indirect costs include:
- work efficiency losses
- time and work reallocation in the household
- For children, indirect costs include nutritional deficiencies, cognitive and physical disabilities #mosquitochat

Conclusions: The impacts of malaria on livelihoods and agricultural productivity could be reduced "depending on the agricultural and health support systems available to affected households". #mosquitochat

Conclusions: "Scientific evidence on the nature and extent of the effects of malaria is needed to enable health and agricultural policy makers to make informed decisions." #MosquitoChat

Conclusions: "Strategies to mitigate the financial burden of malaria—particularly on the poorest households —should be combined with appropriate communication and behavior change activities ." #MosquitoChat

Conclusions: "Malaria prevention methods must therefore be adopted in a more holistic way to encompass all the various systems including environmental and climatic changes to ensure its complete eradication in tropical regions of the world." #MosquitoChat