Effect of malaria on productivity in a workplace: the case of a banana plantation in Zimbabwe

Abstract

BackgroundMalaria is known to contribute to reduction in productivity through absenteeism as worker-hours are lost thus impacting company productivity and performance. This paper analysed the impact of malaria on productivity in a banana plantation through absenteeism.MethodsThis study was carried out at Matanuska farm in Burma Valley, Zimbabwe. Raw data on absenteeism was obtained in retrospect from the Farm Manager. Malaria infection was detected using malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test. Measures of absence from work place were determined and included; incidence of absence (number of absentees divided by the total workforce), absence frequency (number of malaria spells), frequency rate (number of spells divided by the number of absentees), estimated duration of spells (number of days lost due to malaria), severity rate (number of days lost divided by number of spells), incapacity rate (number of days lost divided by the number of absentees), number of absent days (number of spells times the severity rate), number of scheduled working days (actual working days in 5 months multiplied by total number of employees), absenteeism rate.ResultsA total of 143 employees were followed up over a 5-month period. Malaria positivity was 21%, 31.5%, 44.8%, 35.7% and 12.6% for January 2014 to May 2014, respectively. One spell of absence [194 (86.6%)] was common followed by 2 spells of absence [30 (13.4%)] for all employees. Duration of spells of absence due to malaria ranged from 1.5 to 4.1 working-days, with general workers being the most affected. Incidence of absence was 143/155 (93.3%), with total of spells of absence of over a 5-month period totalling 224. The frequency rate of absenteeism was 1.6 with severity rate of absence being 2.4. and incapacity rate was 3.7.ConclusionMalaria contributes significantly to worker absenteeism. Employers, therefore, ought to put measures that protect workers from malaria infections. Protecting workers can be done through malaria educative campaigns, providing mosquito nets, providing insecticide-treated work suits, providing repellents and partnering with different ministries to ensure protection of workers from mosquito bites.

When Local Trade-Offs between SDGs Turn Out to Be Wealth-Dependent: Interaction between Expanding Rice Cultivation and Eradicating Malaria in Rwanda

“…Finally, the overview in Figure 1 shows a positive feedback loop from absence of communicable diseases to agricultural productivity (arrow f; +1/+2), as ill health reduces one's abilities to farm. Lukwa et al [19] reported an average of 4.1 days lost at work due to malaria among farm workers at a banana plantation in Zimbabwe over a five-month observation period. Such work absenteeism can affect agricultural output considerably over a production cycle, as shown among vegetable farmers in Ivory Coast [20].…”

Antimalarial Activity of Extract and Fractions of Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr.

“…Malaria in humans is caused by five parasitic species of the genus Plasmodium , including P. falciparum , P. vivax , P. ovale , P. malariae , and P. knowlesi [ 1 ]. Malaria is one of the infectious diseases that can cause death, anemia, and decrease work productivity [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Malaria Situation in The South Kalimantan Province, 2010–2018

“…Malaria is an infectious disease and has become a public health concern in Indonesia. It has caused high morbidity and mortality rates and has decreased the productivity of human resources (Lukwa, Mawoyo, Zablon, Siya, & Alaba, 2019) and national development (Degarege, Fennie, Degarege, Chennupati, & Madhivanan, 2019;Nonvignon et al, 2016). To overcome the malaria problem, a global commitment was made to eliminate malaria in all countries during the 60 th World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2007 (World Health Organization, 2019).…”