Rough determination of the cost-benefit balance point of sanitation programmes.

Resources for sanitation programmes in developing countries are limited and therefore must be used judiciously to obtain the best possible effect. Cost-benefit analysis is a tool that permits the better utilization of available resources. A simple method for rough determination of the cost-benefit balance point has been devised which requires little computation. To reduce the computations to a minimum, nomograms have been constructed which require little or no mathematical skill for their use. While the method falls short of perfection, its simplicity makes it useful for a rough evaluation of the benefits from sanitation programmes aimed at disease control in countries whose resources are not available for more sophisticated analysis.