ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the cost effectiveness of community-based therapeutic care (CTC) for children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in government primary health care centres in Lusaka, Zambia, compared to no care. It describes the outcomes of CTC in Lusaka, estimates the costs of CTC, and estimates the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of this type of CTC, compared to no treatment. The chapter shows a cost effectiveness analysis based on a decision tree model. A decision tree model compared the costs and outcomes of CTC to a hypothetical 'do-nothing' alternative. The chapter also shows that CTC for SAM among children aged under five years in Lusaka results in good outcomes at a reasonable cost. The chapter is based on an innovative large scale programme implemented through government primary care health centres throughout a Zambian city. Twenty volunteers attached to each health centre screened children at the health centres and in the community and referred those with SAM to CTC.
