Podoconiosis is endemic non-filarial elephantiasis mostly affecting barefootedruralrnfarmers in countries of tropical Africa, Central and South America, NorthrnIndia, Cameroon and Sri Lanka. In Ethiopia the condition is more prevalent thanrnany other African country. In areas of red clay soil the disease is common mainlyrnin the economically active age group. Even so, little attention has been given tornit and there have not been any studies on the economic burden of podoconiosis.rnThe overall objective of this study was to estimate podoconiosis-related directrnand productivity costs in Wolaitta zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia.rnThe study was undertaken in Wolaitta zone, SNNPR, using quantitative matchedrncomparative cross-sectional study complemented by qualitative key informants'rninterview on 702 study subjects. Cost estimation was based on the societalrnperspective for cost analysis, the human capital approach to estimate productivityrnlosses and the prevalence-based model as a time frame. Data were enteredrninto EPI-INFO V.6 and exported to SPSS V.11 for matched pair analysis.rnThe opportunity cost of time lost by patients and care-takers accounted for thernmajor component (72.1%) of patient-side cost. The average patient-side cost wasrn97.6 Birr (US$ 11.35) per patient. The actual out-of-pocket expenses over thernthree months period form 6% of the overall quarterly expenditure of householdsrnixrnof the studied patients per annum. When projected over one year, the totalrndirect costs amount to 1233.40 Birr (US$ 143.42) per patient.rnIt was also found that most patients did not completely stop work, but spent onlyrn3.56 Â± 2.87 hours per day on economic activity compared to 6.52Â±2.53 hoursrnworked by controls (p