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Objective To estimate the financial cost of managing diabetes mellitus in four Cocoa clinics of Ghana. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study of diabetes management was carried out in the four Cocoa clinics of Ghana from January to December 2009. The “cost-of-illness” approach from the institutional perspective was used. A pretested data extraction form was used to review the medical records of 304 randomly selected diabetic patients. Results The patients’ mean age was 55.4 ± 9.4 years. The mean annual financial cost of managing one diabetic case at the clinics was estimated to be Ghana cedi (GHS) 540.35 (US $372.65). Service cost constituted 22% of the cost, whereas direct medical cost constituted 78% of the cost. Drug cost was 71% of the financial cost. The cost of hospitalization per patient-day at Cocoa clinics was estimated at GHS 32.78 (US $22.61). The total financial cost of diabetes management was estimated at GHS 420,087.67 (US $289,715.63). This accounted for 8% of the total expenditure for the clinics in the year 2009. The study showed that facility type, type of diabetes, and presence of complication are associated with the cost of diabetes management to Cocoa clinics. Conclusions The mean age of detection suggests delay in diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and accompanying complications, which has cost implications. Policy that enhances early detection of diabetes in clinical practice would therefore improve management and reduce costs. The financial cost of managing diabetes can be used to forecast the economic burden of the disease in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]