Socio-economic Costs of Treating Malaria Parasitic Disease in Nigeria: A Household Unit Investigation of Two Local Government Areas in Rivers State, Nigeria

This study aims at bringing costs of malaria care to the heart of national health discourse in order to seek solutions to the malaria malaise through empirical evidence to support the proposition. The study examines the significance of socio-economic costs of malaria care on reduction in income of households in Nigeria. A sample of five hundred (500) respondents drawn from patients and health seekers from various health and pharmaceutical facilities within Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria were used for this research. The study employs spearman rank statistical correlation coefficient for the analysis. Findings from this study evidenced a significant and negative correlation between socio-economic costs of malaria care and reduction in income of households in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria at a correlation of -.0841 at 0.000 level of significance, The implications of these findings necessitated the need to address the health challenge posed by malaria as the country’s goal of eliminating the incidence of poverty will not be achieved unless effective malaria control and awareness programmes are put in place.