South Africa is an upper-mid income country with a population of around 51 million people.

Children represent 31 % of the total population. Applying the described incidence of 110–140 new cases per million, it is expected to report an annual new number between 1600 and 2000 children diagnosed with cancer in South Africa. However the total number reported annually does not exceed 700 new cases (the overall age-standardized average annual incidence rate is 45/million).

The per capita GDP of the country is US$5916.46 and the medical treatment (including oncology) in the government institutions is free for all children below the age of 6 years, while modest income-based contributions are required for older children.

Guidelines to determine the cost and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of treatment are stipulated in the WHO’s “Guide to cost-effectiveness analysis ” and “Burden of Disease” reports . They suggest the detailed calculation of all expenses related to treatment and to measure these costs against Years of Life Lost (YLL) , Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) and the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country help guide important decisions regarding the optimal application of resources.

The Global Burden of Disease working group has set the different Disability Weights for different diseases.

Health Economics is one of the many branches in economics, an applied field in medicine that allows for the systematic and rigorous examination of the problems faced in promoting health for all.

It has been also defined as “a branch of economics concerned with issues related to efficiency, effectiveness, value, and behavior in the production and consumption of health and healthcare”. In broad terms, health economists study the functioning of healthcare systems and health-affecting behaviors (such as smoking).

The concept of health economics can be explained in layman language as the study of economical functioning of healthcare system in an economy. It involves matters affecting the health of individuals in a society. An example of application of the health economics is the study of cigarette smoking and its effects on the economy from the health expenses perspective. Economics bills have been introduced to curb smoking-related expenditures and healthcare.

On a continent which is affected by major other causes of diseases, childhood cancer and the treatment of childhood cancer may not appear as a priority or cost-effective intervention. In most high-income countries, cancer represents the leading cause of non-accidental death in children older than 1 year. While infection accounted for 64 % of global deaths in the first 5 years of life in 2010, major shifts in both the magnitude and causes of childhood mortality have occurred in many developing countries. Worldwide, an increased number of countries dealt with an impressive decline in childhood mortality from 1990 to 2011 following a better and more efficient infectious disease control program.