ABSTRACT
Those involved in developing and implementing policy and programming on health, and specifically NCDs, benefit from the inputs of health economists in understanding the costs of NCDs to national economies, outlining the fiscal arguments for investing in NCDs as well as how best to use these resources for maximum impact. This chapter describes the economic arguments for investing in NCDs, i.e. in most countries, NCDs account for the largest share of the total disease burden; NCDs are responsible for high costs to the health system; NCDs result in a loss of income for families, communities, employers and countries; and that a large number of interventions for preventing and controlling NCDs are highly cost-effective and can therefore provide a significant return on investment. The chapter describes tools for measuring the direct and indirect costs of NCDs, the costs of many of the interventions described in this book and the economic return on investment. Examples of analyses at the global and country level are described.
