A training on the health cost study for tobacco use is under way at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala with the aim of training participants on how to establish the costs attributed to tobacco use, ways of estimating those costs as well as the step by step approach to carrying out a health cost study for tobacco use.
The training is facilitated by WHO and is attended by Senior officials from key government departments and Ministries in Uganda including health, agriculture, Bureau of Standards, Mulago Cancer Institute, Makerere University School of Public Health, WHO country office as well as CTCA.
Officiating at the opening of the three day training, the Acting WHO Country Representative ( WR) to Uganda, Dr. Solomon Fisseha expressed concern that there is a general lack of knowledge in the region regarding the cost of tobacco use on health. In a speech read for him by the WHO Communication Officer, Mr. Benjamin Sensasi, the WR noted that such knowledge deficiency has made it difficult for countries to estimate the exact cost of tobacco use to enable them effectively build a case to support budget allocations for both tobacco control as well as the treatment of diseases caused by tobacco. He was hopeful that the training will create a pool of experts who can effectively assist in carrying out similar studies in other countries in the region.
Dr. Vinayak Prasad from WHO Headquarters noted that this was the first training of its kind in Africa, adding that it will empower participants with knowledge and skills to generate local evidence using an approved recommended model.
The Principal facilitator of the training, Dr. Nigar Nargis told participants that health cost studies for tobacco use translate the adverse health effects attributed to use into monetary terms. She revealed that according to the body of evidence from Health Cost studies in other parts of the world, smoking-related healthcare expenditure accounts for between 6-15% of all healthcare spending in high income countries. Dr. Nigar told participants that health cost studies are aimed at informing legislators and policymakers of the “net economic loss” to society from tobacco use (e.g. tobacco industry jobs and tax revenues versus the health costs); measuring the burden of tobacco-attributed diseases on healthcare delivery services and public health financing; guiding health policy and planning for tobacco control; as well as providing a rational economic framework and baseline dataset for tobacco control programme evaluation.
The training is expected to result into identification of relevant information to help prioritize tobacco epidemic in the national health agenda, establishment of the initial information to develop more comprehensive policies and programs for tobacco control; as well as Identifying information gaps, research needs and refinement of the information and surveillance systems at national level. Participants are also expected to develop an action plan for health cost research.