The two public health interventions that have had the greatest impact on the world’s health are clean water and vaccines . Professors Susan Goldstein and Haroon Saloojee assess South Africa’s child vaccination programme. Why are childhood vaccinations so important? What are some essential ones? A recent study published in The Lancet estimated that since 1974, 154 million lives have been saved by immunisation, most of them children.
A 2016 study of low- and middle-income countries found that for every dollar invested in vaccines, the return on investment was estimated to be US$44 , considering broader social and economic benefits. Childhood vaccines are most effective when they are administered to children at the right age, and with the recommended dosage, as children are susceptible to certain diseases at certain ages. As an example, polio occurs most frequently in children below the age of five .
Five doses of polio vaccinations are recommended, starting at birth. As the most contagious and fast-moving of the vaccine-preventable diseases, measles is often described as the “canary in the coalmine”: a warning of other disease outbreaks that might spring up where there are gaps in vaccination coverage. How does South Africa fare? A case study done in 2011/2012 found South Africa spent US$131 million on basic child vaccine procurement, less than 1%-1.
5% of public health expenditure and comparable to Latin American countries known for early vaccine adoption. In 2023 new v.
