THINKWELL: NEW EVIDENCE ON THE COSTING THE DELIVERY OF COVID-19 VACCINES IN MOZAMBIQUE AND THE PHILIPPINES
ThinkWell has recently published two reports focusing on the expenses associated with administering COVID-19 vaccines in Mozambique and the Philippines, with the aim of aiding governmental decision-making and filling knowledge gaps regarding the costs of such vaccination programs. In collaboration with Universidade Eduardo Mondlane and Ateneo de Manila University, ThinkWell conducted detailed retrospective studies on cost, coupled with qualitative assessments of operational and financial challenges. In Mozambique, the cost per dose decreased from $0.96 to $0.43 as the vaccination program scaled up, indicating inadequate funding rather than low implementation costs. The Philippines exhibited higher costs, with unit costs ranging from $1.43 to $2.42 per dose across different vaccination sites, partly due to rapid mass hiring of health workers. These studies form part of a broader project employing standardized methods to generate cost evidence for COVID-19 vaccine delivery in low- and middle-income nations, with findings already available for Côte d’Ivoire and Vietnam, and reports for Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda forthcoming.