The Office of Health Economics (OHE) published the research paper “Analysing Global Immunisation Expenditure” on April 15, 2025. This comprehensive study examines immunisation spending trends from 2016 to 2022 across ten countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Despite the proven societal and economic benefits of vaccination, the report reveals that immunisation expenditure averages only 0.08% of GDP among these nations. Notably, funding for immunisation is often among the first to be cut during economic downturns, jeopardising public health resilience.
The study highlights that a $100 per capita increase in immunisation spending correlates with three fewer vaccine-preventable deaths per 100,000 people. However, coverage rates for key vaccines remain below WHO targets, particularly affecting adult vaccination programs. Data gaps across age groups and programs severely limit effective policy-making, resource allocation, and program monitoring. The authors recommend that governments reassess their national immunisation budgets, increase and stabilise funding, enhance programme effectiveness, and improve data collection and reporting to build resilient healthcare systems that deliver long-term health and economic benefits.