Since 2019, the Immunization Economics Special Interest Group at IHEA has organized a bi-annual Pre-Congress meeting to bring together academic institutions, NGOs, multinational organizations, policymakers, program managers and private sector representatives to discuss the latest research findings, methodological advancements, implications for policy and practice, facilitate peer-to-peer learning, foster partnerships, and align on research priorities relevant to support immunization programs in low- and middle-income countries.
All submissions are welcome: ongoing research, presentations on methods, as well as proposals for panel discussions or training sessions. We specifically welcome submissions on the below priority topics.
- Economics of reaching zero-dose children:
- Service delivery: comparing the cost and cost-effectiveness of different interventions aimed at reducing zero-dose prevalence, including integrated and mixed strategies, or novel approaches such as drone delivery or extended hours and weekend sessions
- Planning and identification: e.g. cost of GIS-enhanced microplanning, EIR for identification
- Demand: cost to households of seeking immunization services, cost-effectiveness and sustainability (incl. impact after cessation) of demand-side incentives across contexts, interventions to improve management of mild AEFIs
- Gender: leveraging local women’s organizations, engaging men and other household decision-makers, incentives specifically for women, empowering women health workers
- Community engagement: leveraging community volunteers, immunization champions, community and religious leaders, traditional birth attendants and midwives, improving and institutionalization community health worker programs, and school and pre-school-based approaches
- Financing: advocacy and making the economic case for vaccinating zero dose children and reaching missed communities, improving how zero dose priority areas are financed through e.g. budget advocacy or direct facility financing
- Sustainability, donor transitions, and integration: prioritization, equity tradeoffs, optimization of immunization delivery strategies or vaccine portfolios, sustainability of interventions, managing financial constraints in light of donor transitions and limited resources, prevention of backsliding in middle income countries, integration with nutrition and maternal and child health services, value of combination vaccines
- Delivering immunization in humanitarian and fragile settings, and high-risk polio areas: cost, sustainability and integration considerations of delivering routine immunization in complex settings, cost of drone vs regular delivery
- Economics of surveillance and outbreak response: cost and sustainability of recurrent outbreak responses
We also particularly encourage submissions from low- and middle-income countries. If the topic you propose is selected for the agenda, there will be (limited) funding available to sponsor your attendance.
Submissions should be no longer than 500 words and submitted by the end of Friday 11th April 2025 (DEADLINE EXTENSION).
If you have any questions please contact immunizationeconomics@thinkwell.global
