Immunization can offer some financial protection against significant illness treatment costs among the poor. – VoICE
Key Concept

Key Evidence: A study looking at the impact of pneumococcal vaccine introduction and scaling up pneumonia treatment in Ethiopia found that 30-40% of all deaths averted by these interventions would be expected to occur in the poorest wealth quintile. The greatest resulting financial risk protection would also be concentrated among the bottom income quintile.

Johannsen, K.A, Memirie, S.T., Pecenka, C. et al 2015. Health gains and financial protection from pneumococcal vaccination and pneumonia treatment in Ethiopia: Results from an extended cost-effectiveness analysis. PLOS ONE. 10(12).
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Key Evidence: An analysis of the potential impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in India found that introducing PCV vaccine will protect the population from potentially catastrophic health expenditures due to treatment and hospitalizations for pneumococcal disease – saving an estimated $49-63 million in out-of-pocket expenditures each year, depending on the assumed vaccination coverage rate. Financial protection will be greatest for the poorest households, with the poorest quintile is estimated to have the greatest savings in out-of-pocket expenditures of all wealth quintiles.

Megiddo K, Klein E, Laxminarayan R 2018. Potential impact of introducing the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine into national immunisation programmes: an economic epidemiological analysis using data from India. BMJ Global Health. 3(3).
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Key Evidence: In a financial risk model analysis of 41 Gavi-eligible countries, the burden of Catastrophic Health Costs (CHC) and Medical Impoverishment (MI) would be greatest in the lowest income populations. With expanded vaccine coverage, the share of prevented cases of measles, pneumococcal disease, and rotavirus, in relation to the total number of cases prevented, would be larger in the lowest income populations thereby providing a larger financial risk protection (FRP) to these populations.

Riumallo-Herl, C., Chang, A.Y., Clark, S., et al. 2018. Poverty reduction and equity benefits of introducing or scaling up measles, rotavirus, and pneumococcal vaccines in low-income and middle-income countries: a modeling study. British Journal of Medicine Global Health. 3:e000612.
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