Cost-benefit RISE

Cost-benefit and extended cost-effectiveness analysis of a comprehensive adolescent pregnancy prevention program in Zambia

This study builds on CISMAC’s randomized controlled trial RISE. It seeks to examine the short- and long-term monetary benefits of providing cash support to adolescent girls and their guardians / parents, as well as community dialogue about delaying pregnancy and childbearing to an older age. The project has the potential to generate benefits that would span across different sectors including health, education, as well as both personal and community economies.

Adolescent pregnancies are associated with an increased risk of significant out-of-pocket health expenditures for the family as a consequence of additional health complications for the mothers and their babies. If the interventions can delay childbearing to an appropriate age, it may well also result in reduced costs for health care and increased economic benefits from higher levels of education and higher productivity. This study compares the cost of the program to the social benefits resulting from reduced rates of adolescent births and the associated complications. The cost-benefit analysis will make it possible to determine to what extent the benefits of the RISE interventions outweigh their costs. The project will generate valuable information that can be used to guide future, large-scale implementations of similar programs in other areas of Zambia as well as other low- and middle-income countries.

Principal Investigator:
Ingvild Sandøy, University of Bergen, Norway

Co-Principle Investigator:
Patrick Musonda, University of Zambia, Zambia

Study Lead:
Amani Thomas Mori, University of Bergen, Norway