A new publication in Vaccine estimates the cost of introducing and delivering maternal vaccines in Ghana and Mozambique, one of the few studies examining the potential costs of maternal vaccines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Researchers used an activity-based prospective cost projection approach to estimate maternal immunization introduction and delivery costs for a five-year period from a health system perspective, with new maternal vaccine delivery anticipated to leverage the existing maternal vaccine delivery practices.
The non-vaccine cost of delivering one dose of maternal vaccine was estimated at $3.42 (financial) and $4.12 (economic) in Ghana, and $1.84 (financial) and $2.21 (economic) in Mozambique. Health worker training, communication and social mobilization, and program planning and coordination constitute the main cost drivers. Cost differences between countries are partly driven by the anticipated baseline coverage and baseline health system capacity gaps.
This study begins to fill gap on the cost of delivering maternal vaccines in LMICs. These cost projections are comparable to other new vaccine introduction costs in similar settings, providing insights for local and global stakeholders seeking to understand costs of maternal immunization delivery.
Thumbnail image credit: WHO / Fanjan Combrin
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