Good Practice in Public Health: Thinking About the Economies of Complex Emergencies

Abstract

Emergency public health action is often faced with severe constraints. Limited resources are available to respond to sometimes-immense initial requirements and competing needs. Ethical decisions in public health can only be made when the decision-maker understands the arguments for and against, and decides in the light of this knowledge. Emergency budgets are not unlimited, have alternative possible uses, and can easily be wasted. Yet many aid workers find it impossible or unethical to consider the cost of emergency aid. This paper proposes to consider the use of economic methods in three ways: 1- to assist with rational decision-making. 2- to offer a tool for continuously monitoring interventions. 3- to enable programme evaluation in terms of cost-effectiveness.