1. www.gavi.org
WHY INVEST IN VACCINES
Protecting health, improving education and
boosting future prospects through
immunisation
#vaccineswork

2. A VIRTUOUS CYCLE
Child vaccinated
from birth to 2
years
Likely to be
healthier and live
longer
Child has fewer
and less serious
illnesses
Lower care costs
for health system
and family
More family money
available to spend
or to save
Child attends
school more,
leading to better
outcomes
Community more
economically
stable and
productive
Birth rate drops;
mother’s health
Family economic
outlook
strengthens
improves
More politically &
economically
stable countries
Immunisation is one of the
most cost-effective ways of
improving living standards,
health and economic
prospects

3. VACCINES HAVE A LONG-TERM POSITIVE
IMPACT BEYOND HEALTH OUTCOMES
• Protecting children from infectious diseases raises IQ,
improving cognitive function
• Vaccination keeps children healthy, thereby reducing the burden
of care on parents; improving their productivity and freeing
them from crippling medical costs
• Decrease in child mortality leads to a decline in birth cohort:
families have fewer children to achieve ideal family size
• 30–50% of Asia’s economic growth from 1965 to 1990 attributed
to reductions in infant and child mortality and fertility rates
Spending on child health has the greatest
impact on improving lifetime earnings
Source: David Bloom, “The Value of Vaccination,”
January 2011

4. VACCINES = BETTER EDUCATION
THE EVIDENCE
In the Philippines
• Large and significant effect
of routine vaccination on test
scores, raising them on
average by about 0.5
standard deviations (SD)
• One SD gain in cognitive test
scores raises earnings by
around 8%
In Bangladesh
• Children vaccinated against
measles in their first year of
life are 9% more likely to
attend school
• Each year vaccination is
delayed decreases the
probability of school
enrollment by 2.4%
• Each year of schooling
increases wages by 9.7%

5. IMMUNISATION AND ECONOMICS
• Vaccination lowers care costs for health systems and for families,
saving up to $6 billion in treatment costs
• Less time spent caring for sick children means as much as $1
billion more available for families to spend or save
• Lower risk of catastrophic costs which can ruin families and
leave them in debt
• Children who are protected from disease live longer and later
work longer to earn more for their families and communities
• Communities benefit from the shared “herd effect” of vaccines so
that even those not vaccinated can be protected
• Fewer disease outbreaks mean less disruption to trade and
tourism, benefiting national economies
Source: Stack M, Bishai D, Mirelman A et al. Estimated economic benefits during
Decade of Vaccines, Health Affairs 2011; 30(6) 1021-1028

6. THE BEST START IN LIFE
Better health, more education Healthier, productive workforce
More money to spend or save Better off families and communities

7. www.gavi.org
THANK YOU
#vaccineswork