A new paper from the REACH AVENIR study team in Niger provides a detailed micro-costing of mass drug administration (MDA) with azithromycin, demonstrating the excellent value for money represented by REACH interventions.
The study also provides ample evidence of the value of locally-led implementation research in informing policy and practice.
The paper, “Micro-costing for national-scale azithromycin mass drug administration to improve child survival in Niger”, was published in the PLOS Global Public Health journal.
Evidence-based impact
The AVENIR team’s work is a perfect example of the REACH Network’s principles in practice: generating and applying rigorous local evidence to deliver effective, scientifically-sound interventions that can significantly improve child survival rates at scale.
Excellent value for money
The study estimates that delivering azithromycin at national scale would cost approximately US$1.59 per dose delivered.
This dollar cost is somewhat higher than some other commonly cited MDA costs.
Crucially, however, the programme in Niger was implemented as a standalone platform, compensated all labour, and was intentionally designed to reach children in small and geographically remote communities.
The case for country-led delivery
One of the most important findings was the substantial variation in costs across regions, underscoring how geography and implementation context shape programme delivery.
This underlines the absolute necessity of using local evidence in planning and budgeting – in line with the key REACH Network commitment to country ownership.
Cost-effective, equitable access to life-saving treatment
Fundamentally, the team’s findings highlight the excellent value for money that can be achieved when investing in equitable, high-coverage delivery strategies that include even the hardest-to-reach children, living in the most remote communities.
Huge congratulations to the REACH AVENIR team in Niger and to all collaborators on this important contribution to the growing – and increasingly compelling – evidence base in favour of integrated REACH azithromycin interventions.
