Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH
-
Trop. Med. Int. Health · Feb 2014
Estimating the costs of implementing the rotavirus vaccine in the national immunisation programme: the case of Malawi.
Worldwide, rotavirus infections cause approximately 453,000 child deaths annually. Two licensed vaccines could be life- and cost-saving in low-income countries where the disease burden is highest. The aim of our study was to estimate the total cost of implementing the rotavirus vaccine in the national immunisation programme of a low-income country. Furthermore, the aim was to examine the relative contribution of different components to the total cost. ⋯ The total cost of rotavirus vaccine implementation in Malawi is high compared with the governmental health budget of US$ 26 per capita per year. This highlights the need for new financing opportunities for low-income countries to facilitate vaccine implementation and ensure sustainable financing.