ICAN Launches Systematic Review on Immunization Delivery Costs

JSI is thrilled to help our partners at Thinkwell launch the findings from a systematic review of the current evidence base on immunization delivery costs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Conducted as part of the Immunization Costing Action Network (ICAN), the review aims to answer a question frequently asked by global and country immunization stakeholders: What are the unit costs of vaccine delivery across different LMICs and through a variety of delivery strategies?

The review considered over 13,000 articles/reports published between January 2005 and January 2017 on the topic. Ultimately, ThinkWell drew from 54 articles/reports on immunization delivery costing data without restricting itself to a particular vaccine, delivery strategy, type of cost analysis, or setting.

A range of tools and companion products from the systematic review are now available at www.immunizationeconomics.org/ican:

• A standardized and richly annotated Immunization Delivery Cost Catalogue (Excel workbook and web tool) of the data extracted. The catalog presents 192 records, which include one or more unit costs (i.e., cost per capita, dose, full immunization of a vaccine or fully immunized child, or person in the target population). In total, there are over 400 unit costs available, all presented in 2016 USD for easy referencing and use.
• A summary report of findings on immunization delivery costs, describing the spread/scope of the evidence and the methods/reporting of the included articles/reports, including their quality as assessed by the review team.
• An analysis of Immunization Delivery Unit Cost Estimates (i.e., cost ranges) for vaccine delivery through a variety of strategies and in a variety of contexts. These estimates of cost per dose and cost per fully immunized child pool four or more comparable unit cost findings, noting the cost range and other descriptive statistics.
• Companion interpretive products (e.g., detailed methodology note and user guides)

The review will be refreshed at the end of 2018 and also in 2019 to reflect new content and user feedback. To contribute grey literature resources published between January 2005 and January 2018, please visit this page. To provide feedback or seek clarification on any of the Immunization Costing Action Network resources, please contact ICAN@thinkwell.global.

THE IMMUNIZATION COSTING ACTION NETWORK (ICAN)

Led by ThinkWell and John Snow, Inc. (JSI), the ICAN is a project focused on increasing the visibility, availability, understanding, and use of data on the cost of delivering vaccines. ICAN aims to build country capacity around generation and use of cost information to work toward sustainable and predictable financing for vaccine delivery. The three-year project includes this systematic review of immunization delivery costs, country costing studies, and a peer learning network. The ICAN is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.