A Cost Analysis of the Honduras Community-based Integrated Child Care Program

Abstract

The Honduras AIN-C (Atencion Integral a la Ninez-Comunitaria) Program is a preventive health and nutrition program of the Honduras Ministry of Health that relies on volunteers to help mothers and communities pro-actively monitor and maintain the adequate growth of young children. A 2000 experimental-design based evaluation found that the program achieved near-universal coverage and was effective in improving mothers' child-rearing knowledge, attitudes and practices, including feeding practices and appropriate care-giving and care-seeking practices for children with diarrhea and acute respiratory illness. The program is widely regarded as a model. This study was undertaken to provide the first comprehensive estimates of the cost of AIN-C, with the goal of providing a program and financial planning tool for Honduras, as well as other countries interested in implementing an AIN-C Program. Expressed in mid-2002 U.S. dollars, the study found: (1) the long-term, annual, recurrent cost per child less than two participating in the program is US$6.82, (2) the long-term, annual, incremental budget requirements per child less than two participating in the program is $4.00, (3) the long-term, annual recurrent cost per capita is $0.44, and the cost of an AIN-C monthly growth monitoring and counseling session per child is 11 percent of the cost of a traditional MOH, facility-based growth and development consultation per child.