In 41 Gavi-eligible countries, in the absence of vaccine coverage, the number of Catastrophic Health Costs (CHC) cases caused by measles would be 18.9 million, by severe pneumococcal disease would be 6.6 million and by severe rotavirus disease would be 2.2 million. Expanding vaccine coverage in these countries would reduce the number of cases of CHC due to measles by 90%, due to pneumococcal disease by 30% and due to rotavirus disease by 40%.
Global
Missed opportunities for vaccination were assessed in 14 countries, showing the benefits of various health interventions on immunization coverage
Missed opportunities for vaccination i.e. percentage of children who failed to attain full immunization coverage (FIC) among those receiving one or more other health interventions were assessed through a study of 14 geographically diverse countries. In children with a vaccination rate below 70%, FIC was observed to be lowest in children born to mothers who failed to attend antenatal care across countries. The largest difference in FIC (54%) was observed in Côte d’Ivoire comparing children born to mothers who attended four or more ANC visits compared to no ANC visits. The presence of skilled birth attendant (SBA) was linked to higher rates of FIC with a 36% lower FIC in children born without a SBA in Nigeria. Post-natal care (PNC) acted as a factor contributing to 31% increase in FIC in the children who received PNC in Ethiopia. Vitamin A supplementation and sleeping under an insecticide treated bed net (ITN) were also positively linked to increase in FIC in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti respectively.
Babies whose mothers are vaccinated against rubella before pregnancy are protected from permanent disabilities
Mothers infected with rubella virus during the first trimester of pregnancy can give birth to children with permanent disabilities such as intellectual impairment, autism, blindness, deafness, and cardiac defects. The infection is completely preventable if mothers are vaccinated before pregnancy.
Children of uneducated mothers may be at greater risk of death than children of educated mothers
Across many South Asian and sub-Saharan African countries, children of mothers who received no formal education were nearly 3 times as likely to die before reaching age 5 as those born to mothers with some secondary education.
Low- and middle-income countries have higher gender inequality than high-income countries
An ecological study designed to investigate the association between child mortality rates and gender inequality using the United Nations Development Programme’s Gender Inequality Index (GII), showed that low- and middle-income countries have significantly higher gender inequality and under-5 mortality rates than high-income countries. Greater gender inequality was significantly correlated with lower immunization coverage and higher neonatal, infant, and under-5 mortality.
Scaling up Rotavirus vaccine coverage heavily averted treatment costs
In a modeled analysis of the economic impact of vaccine use in the world’s 72 poorest countries, for countries included in the analyses from the African region, scaling up coverage of the Rotavirus (RVV) vaccine to 90% was projected to result in more than US$900 million in treatment costs averted.
Vaccine-preventable illnesses are the leading causes of death during humanitarian emergencies
Respiratory infections and diarrhea are the leading causes of death during humanitarian emergencies according to a 2016 review of vaccine-preventable diseases and the use of immunizations during complex humanitarian emergencies.
Universal immunization programs have been shown to improve the height and weight measurement markers associated with malnutrition
Malnutrition is a leading contributor to morbidity and mortality during humanitarian emergencies, and a cyclical relationship exists between malnutrition and infectious diseases. Universal immunization programs have been shown to improve the height and weight measurement markers associated with malnutrition.
Rotavirus immunization can decrease hospital admissions, alleviating pressure on overburdened health systems
A review of evaluations of rotavirus vaccine impact on hospitalizations and all-cause acute gastroenteritis (AGE) across multiple countries showed that during the first decade since vaccine licensure, a 32% median reduction in hospitalizations due to AGE were observed in children under a year of age. In children younger than 5 years of age a 38% median reduction was noted. Additionally, laboratory confirmed cases of rotavirus-related hospitalization dropped by 80% and 67% in children under 1 year and 5 years of age respectively. The vaccine introduction also lead to a 46% decrease of AGE in children under 5 years of age in a high mortality setting.
Globally, girls and boys were found to have the same likelihood of being vaccinated
A study looking at DHS data from 67 countries found that, globally, girls and boys had the same likelihood of being vaccinated. In some countries where there is known gender inequity and son preference, girls were more likely to not be vaccinated.