Development Ratings

Some 10% of children who are not immunised will die (Source: WHO). Many more may be disabled if they catch one of several serious and common diseases. Rubella can severely disable a woman’s unborn child. Ante natal clinic visits and skilled birth attendants reduce mortality and help prevent disabling birthing injuries.

The Foundation has calculated that it averages £30 per person to carry out surgery. This underestimates the actual cost due to the volunteer surgeon’s time and donated medicines, cataract lenses, etc. As a result of our enquiry this year, IMPACT has researched in greater detail the actual numbers of people screened and treated in 2007 and 2008. As a result of the new, more reliable figures, the cost per person screened for disabling conditions in 2008 was only 94p. The cost per person actively treated (operated on, immunised, trained, rehabilitated, given mobility/hearing/vision aids, etc.) averages £7.54.

This figure does not fully represent the benefits of IMPACT’s programmes, however. The beneficiaries of Rubella immunisation, for instance, would include all a woman’s subsequent children. Nutrition gardens will supply more than the immediately benefited individuals. The training of health workers, birth attendants and mothers will have a multiplier effect on future patients and children. Health education sessions will help more than just the people who attended the sessions. Depending on the assumptions made as to the indirect beneficiaries, we have estimated that there are 2m direct and around 3.7m indirect beneficiaries at a combined cost of 30p per person. This is an impressive figure for a medium-sized charity. And it does not take into account the benefits of avoiding and preventing disability, with the costs that disablement inflicts on individuals and society, either temporarily or for a lifetime.

The Foundation is gradually introducing forums to get feedback from beneficiaries on the projects and their implementation. It has monitoring and evaluation structures in place to ensure projects deliver outputs and outcomes as planned. Trustees and staff visit country projects to check results are as expected.