The Monetary Value of Disability-Adjusted Life Years in Kenya in 2017

Abstract

All diseases and injuries exert a heavy epidemiological and socioeconomic burden on Kenya. The specific objectives of this study were (a) to estimate the monetary value of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from all causes in 2017 with the ongoing implementation of United Nations sustainable development goal (SDG) 3 and (b) to estimate the reductions in the monetary value of DALYs in Kenya, assuming diseases and injuries related to SDG3 targets are achieved by 2030. A variant of human capital (or net output) analytical framework was applied to value DALYs from 162 diseases and injuries into their monetary equivalents. The 17.9 million DALYs from 162 causes in Kenya in 2017 had a total monetary value of Int$ 67,012,790,388. Approximately 57% of the monetary value of DALYs emanated from communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases; 36% from noncommunicable diseases; and 7% from injuries. We estimate that attainment of the five SDG3 targets would lead to an Int$ 21.5 billion (45%) decrease in the SDG3-related monetary value of DALYs by 2030. There is an urgent need for health policy-makers to use this kind of evidence when advocating among public and private sectors for increased spending on health development.