Comparaison des coûts du traitement du paludisme en biomédecine et en médecine traditionnelle à Niono (Mali) / Comparison of costs of treatment of malaria in biomedicine and traditional medicine in Niono (Mali)

Introduction. Au Mali, la prise en charge du paludisme se fait à travers la médecine conventionnelle et la médecine traditionnelle, mais peu d'évaluation existe sur les implications fi nancières de ces approches qui coexistent et qui sont pratiqués parfois de manière concomitante. L'objectif de cette étude était d'évaluer les coûts fi nanciers de ces deux approches du point de vue des patients. Méthodes. Ainsi, une étude transversale descriptive impliquant des patients ont été sélectionnés dans trois aires de santé et plus précisément dans des ménages, structures de santé conventionnelle et chez les praticiens de la médecine traditionnelle de Niono, Sirabala et N'Debougou. Des questionnaires structurés ont été utilisés pour collecter des informations. Le calcul du coût de traitement a été utilisé pour comparer le coût moyen de traitement du paludisme en médecine conventionnelle et traditionnelle. Résultats. Au total, 300 patients ont été sélectionnés. 52,7% des patients avaient recouru à la médecine conventionnelle, contre 32% pour l'automédication et 15,3% pour la médecine traditionnelle. Les patients avaient utilisé les ressources de ces trois systèmes de santé pour quatre principaux motifs. Le coût moyen du traitement par épisode de paludisme était estimé à 12,97 Euro en médecine conventionnelle contre 6,24 Euros en médecine traditionnelle. Le coût moyen du traitement de paludisme en automédication à base de médicaments conventionnels ou traditionnels était de 0,82 Euros. Conclusion. Dans notre étude, même si le coût du traitement du paludisme en médecine conventionnelle reste plus élevé que celui en médecine traditionnelle, contrairement aux idées reçues, les coûts des ressources de la médecine traditionnelle ne sont pas aussi bas qu'on le croit.

Introduction. In Mali, malaria management is done through conventional and traditional medicine, but little evaluation exists on the fi nancial implications of these approaches which coexist and are sometimes practiced concomitantly. The objective of this study was to evaluate the fi nancial costs of these two approaches from the patients' point of view. Methods. Thus, a descriptive cross-sectional study involving patients selected in three health areas and more precisely in households, conventional health structures and traditional medicine practitioners in Niono, Sirabala and N'Debougou. Structured questionnaires were used to collect information. The calculation of the cost of treatment was used to compare the average cost of treating malaria in conventional and traditional medicine. Results. Finally, 300 patients were selectionned and 52.7% of patients had used conventional medicine, compared to 32% for self-medication and 15.3% for traditional medicine. Patients had used the resources of these three health systems for four main reasons. The average cost of treatment per malaria episode was estimated at 12.97 Euros for conventional medicine versus 6.24 Euros for traditional medicine. The average cost of treatment of malaria by self-medication with conventional or traditional medicines was 0.82 Euros. Conclusion. In our study, even if the cost of treating malaria with conventional medicine remains higher than with traditional medicine, contrary to popular belief, the resource costs of traditional medicine are not as low as one might think

Information about COVID-19: Lessons learned from Mali

Introduction. In Mali, information related to COVID-19 is regularly shared by the coordination board against COVID-19 through daily official press releases and situation reports. The goal of this study was to analyze data related to the tested samples; and the confirmed, contacts, recovered and dead cases in order to take lessons for the future. Population and methods. Data from the first 100 days after the detection of the first cases in Mali were collected and recorded on an Excel file before they got analyzed using SPSS 25.0 software. Analyses were descriptive and correlational. Results. We included 14938 tested samples, 2260 confirmed cases, 12864 contact cases, 1502 recovered cases and 117 deaths were reported during the first 100 days of the epidemic. There was a positive correlation between the number of confirmed cases; and the number of tested samples, the number of recovered cases and the number of deaths. These results suggest that the number of confirmed cases increase with the number of tested samples. Conclusion. These results call for more testing and encourage the identification, location and follow-up of COVID-19 cases. They can also be used to support the improvement of data quality and the response to COVID-19. As a result, they can contribute to improve population health