Economic Evaluation Results from Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition

The results from recent analyses in six different disease areas are synthesized to (1) provide a comprehensive, updated comparison across a broad range of conditions; (2) examine changes during the past 10–12 years; and (3) highlight research gaps. Using cost-effectiveness measures from several hundred studies for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to help identify candidates for priority health packages can assist policy makers considering how to move to universal health care coverage. For LMICs as a group, major reviews of cost-effectiveness have informed strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but cost-effectiveness does not provide the only important criterion for policy choice; sustainability, equity, and affordability, among others, also matter. Nevertheless, cost-effectiveness provides a useful and comprehensible reference point. Some of the gaps where future research on cost-effectiveness remains necessary include the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), childhood cancer, mental health, resource-appropriate treatment of early-stage cancers, and interventions to tackle the worldwide spread of obesity.