Publish Date: December 2014
Author: Angela K Shen, Rebecca Fields, Mike McQuestion
This MCSP co-authored commentary, published in the journal Global Health: Science and Practice, highlights the increasing costs of vaccines in the developing world, which have grown from US$1/child in 2001 to about $21 for boys and $35 for girls in 2014, as more and costlier vaccines are being introduced into national immunization programs.
To address these and other challenges, the authors stress that additional efforts are needed to strengthen eight critical components of routine immunization: (1) policy, standards, and guidelines; (2) governance, organization, and management; (3) human resources; (4) vaccine, cold chain, and logistics management; (5) service delivery; (6) communication and community partnerships; (7) data generation and use; and (8) sustainable financing.
The future of routine immunization in the developing world: challenges and opportunities (812 downloads )