Comparing the cost effectiveness of EECC to other interventions

When making decisions about healthcare investments, cost-effectiveness is crucial. One way to measure this is by calculating the cost per Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) averted—a lower cost means better value for money in preventing death and disability.

A recent study in Tanzania evaluated different levels of critical care using this metric. It compared no critical care, district hospital-level care, Essential Emergency and Critical Care (EECC), and advanced critical care (such as ventilators in intensive care units). The findings were clear: EECC is a highly cost-effective way to save lives.

What Makes EECC So Effective?

Essential Emergency and Critical Care (EECC) focuses on simple but life-saving interventions, such as monitoring vital signs, providing oxygen therapy, and administering intravenous fluids. These treatments are affordable yet significantly improve survival chances for critically ill patients.

According to the study, EECC is cost-effective 94–99% of the time when compared to no care or district hospital-level care. The cost-effectiveness is as low as $14 per DALY averted—far below Tanzania’s threshold of $101 per DALY. In contrast, advanced critical care is cost-effective only 27–40% of the time, making it a less reliable investment in low-resource settings.

How Does EECC Compare to Other Health Interventions?

To put this in perspective, we can compare EECC to other medical interventions in Africa based on cost per DALY averted. Research published in Plos One has shown that many widely adopted health strategies cost far more per DALY than EECC.

A comparison of the cost-effectiveness of different health interventions

This comparison highlights just how cost-effective EECC is. For every dollar spent, EECC delivers far greater life-saving potential than many other interventions, including these vaccinations and water sanitation projects. While these interventions are still valuable, the data shows that investing in EECC provides an exceptional return in terms of lives saved and disability prevented.

Prioritizing EECC

The evidence is clear: EECC is a highly cost-effective way to improve survival rates in hospitals, especially in resource-limited settings. Many of the life-saving interventions within EECC—oxygen, intravenous fluids, and simple monitoring—are affordable and feasible to implement at scale.

Healthcare policymakers, global health organizations, and hospitals should prioritize EECC as a core component of health system strengthening. By investing in EECC, we can ensure that critically ill patients receive the care they need, no matter where they are treated.

As countries work towards Universal Health Coverage, EECC should be at the top of the agenda. It’s not just a good investment—it’s a life-saving one.