Diarrheal diseases are a leading cause of illness and death in the developing world and waterborne bacterial infections may account for as many as half of all the diarrheal episodes. Due to reasons ranging from lack of pipe infrastructure and central chlorination to dependence upon shallow wells, people in many emerging market economies do not have access to safe drinking water. To address this critical issue, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) developed the Safe Water System (SWS), a low cost intervention to help improve the water quality at the household level. In 1998, Population Services International (PSI), implemented the Safe Water System intervention in Zambia. The social marketing agency locally produces a dilute bleach solution, Clorin, and retails it at a highly subsidized rate. The purpose of this paper is to determine the financial sustainability of Clorin at the three levels of the PSI operation: production, marketing and distribution. The paper will ascertain PSI’s costs at each defined input level, for example, cost per unit produced. These costs will be analyzed with a breakeven analysis tool to determine the continued need for product subsidization with USAID funds. Sales of Clorin necessary for cost recovery will also be determined. A financial evaluation of the sustainability of PSI’s Clorin operation in Zambia will lead to a better understanding of inputs required to implement this intervention in other countries and provide safe, affordable drinking water to people in the developing world.
Learning Objectives: Objective 1: Recognize the different levels of costs associated with implementation of a public health intervention. Objective 2: Identify sustainability issues associated with international health intervention programs. Objective 3: Discuss issues associated with using a household level intervention to empower a community and deliver safe drinking water.
Keywords: Cost Issues, Drinking Water Quality
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: CDC, Population Services International
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.