Following on from studies conducted in India and Sierra Leone, the ICAN team released the report of the campaign costing study conducted in Nigeria as part of efforts to standardize campaign costing. 

The study in Nigeria aimed to estimate the delivery cost of the yellow fever campaigns in Anambra, Katsina, and Rivers states, with Meningitis A vaccines also being co-delivered as part of the campaign in Anambra. The study estimated the full financial and economic costs of the campaigns and costs were collected at ward, LGA, and state-level, and from federal level government offices and development partners. Costs were aggregated to estimate the volume and sampling probability-weighted average cost per dose delivered, and the total cost of the campaign. 

Per dose delivered, the financial delivery cost was US$0.29 in Rivers, US$0.34 in Katsina, and US$0.35 in Anambra, mostly driven by per diem and allowances, vaccine injection supplies, and transport and fuel costs. The economic cost per dose delivered was US$0.62 in Katsina, US$0.71 in Anambra and US$0.85 in Rivers, and paid and volunteer labor were the key cost drivers among economic cost.  

View the full report here and more information on ICAN is available here. 

As part of efforts through ICAN to standardize campaign costing, the team has released a policy brief with findings from three costing studies of immunization campaigns conducted in India, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. Two of these campaigns were integrated (more than one intervention was delivered), a mode of delivery that is more of a priority than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, evidence is lacking on how integration affects delivery cost.

The policy brief presents the findings from costing studies of three campaigns:

• Measles-rubella catch-up campaign in India
• Yellow Fever campaigns in three states in Nigeria (Anambra, Katsina, and Rivers), co-delivered with meningitis A vaccine in Anambra
• Measles-rubella catch-up campaign in Sierra Leone that was co-delivered with oral polio vaccine nationwide, and vitamin A and deworming tablets in half of the country

The financial delivery cost per targeted person—including costs for all administrative levels, net of capital costs, vaccines, syringes, and safety boxes—for sampled vaccination campaign sites in India, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria ranged from US$0.15 to US$0.42. However, there was significant variation in operational costs across sampled sites, and low-volume sites appeared to have higher operational costs per targeted person, suggesting a need for more sophisticated subnational planning and financing of campaigns.

Financial efficiencies were evident in districts in Sierra Leone which co-delivered all interventions, though higher labor costs were also found in these areas, suggesting that integration may require greater use of existing resources. In Nigeria, results painted a more complex picture, and higher financial unit cost in the co-delivery state of Anambra was likely due to differences in volume delivered across sites, existing capacity, and the way the campaigns were funded.

The studies in Nigeria and Sierra Leone are the first on the cost of integrated campaigns and can form the basis for future research on the cost and policy implications of integration.

View the policy brief here and more information on ICAN is available here.