A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Official Development Assistance Project on Maternal and Child Health in Kwango, DR Congo

A project on maternal and child health (MCH) was conducted by the Korea International Cooperation Agency to reduce maternal and child mortality rates in Kwango, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the costs and benefits of the MCH project, which was under Official Development Assistance for a period of 3 years from 2014 to 2016. The study conducted a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) using a benefit-cost ratio (BCR). The costs were the total costs incurred in implementing the MCH project. The benefits of the MCH project were estimated as the monetary values of the reduction in maternal mortality rates and the mortality rates of infants and children aged under 5 years. The adjusted costs that converted the time value for 2016 were estimated as USD 1,969,532 as part of the CBA. The benefits of reduced maternal mortality and the mortality of infants and children aged under 5 years were estimated as USD 681,416, USD 4,332,376, and USD 1,710,184, respectively, in monetary terms. The total benefits were estimated as USD 6,723,976 and the BCR was calculated at 3.41. In addition, the benefits were estimated by the different economic assumptions through a sensitivity analysis. The MCH project was economically satisfied under the most conservative assumptions.