Erica Palenque, BA, PROCOSI, Av. 20 de Octubre 2164, La Paz, Bolivia, Fernando Gonzales, MD, Population Council, Bolivia, Guachalla 344 - Piso 3, La Paz, Bolivia, John Bratt, MAPPS, MA, Family Health International, PO Box 13950, RTP NC 27709, Durham, NC NC 27709, and Ricardo Vernon, PhD, Population Council, Panzacola 62 - 102, Mexico City, 04000, Mexico, (52)(55) 5999-8630, rvernon@popcouncil.org.mx.

PROCOSI (Programa de Coordinación en Salud Integral) is a network of 24 Bolivian NGO’s that coordinate and implement programs to improve the health of population in need. During 2001 to 2003, PROCOSI implemented a Gender Sensitive Program in Reproductive Health services of seventeen NGO’s. To do that, PROCOSI adapted the IPPF methodology. Among other research components, a cost study was carried out with the objective to record the costs of implementing the interventions. The costs of interventions to adopt a gender perspective are important to consider when deciding whether such interventions should be replicated. This study provides information on the costs of the entire process that culminated in the implementation of specific interventions in the participating agencies. Our costing focus included both financial costs (actual outlays of funds to purchase resources) and non-financial costs (costs of resources that were used in the interventions but which PROCOSI did not purchase). This broad perspective considered the costs of all resources used, regardless of who paid for them. This perspective reflects the economic concept of “opportunity cost”, which is defined as the value of the resource in its most productive alternative use; in this study it represents a 65% of the total costs. These concepts could help public health managers to increase the project interventions efficiency.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants could consider the concept and the effect of "opportunity costs", as an element to have in mind when budgeting new public health interventions that are implemented in places that operating services.

Keywords: Cost Issues,

Related Web page: None

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.