UNICEF Yemen: How can vaccination be an investment

Vaccines do not only protect the health of a child through preventing infections that can lead to serious health complications, permanent disability, or death, but can also protect the wealth of the family and ultimately the entire country. This can be explained through the Return on Investment. There are two ways of calculating the economic benefit of vaccines. The first way is looking at the total cost of illness that can be avoided by vaccines. In fact, the cost of illness requires a lot more money than the vaccination – about 16 times compared to the cost of vaccination. The second way of calculating the economic benefit of vaccination considers the value of statistical life. Every dollar invested in vaccination programmes, returns up to US $20 if the child lives in a low- and/or middle-income country. Prevention is better than cure.

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