ABSTRACT
PIP: This paper describes a cost-effectiveness analysis of the immunization programs in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, using the program costing guidelines developed for the WHO Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). The principal organizational features of each program are outlined, and total costs and costs/fully immunized infant are assessed at a small sample of health centers in each country. Costs were found to average US $2.86 in Indonesia, US $4.97 in the Philippines, and US $10.73 in Thailand. At each health center the main element of total immunization costs was fixed, so that average costs/fully immunized child fell as coverage levels and activity rates rose. The implications of this preliminary analysis are considered for each country and common managerial issues in EPI in particular, and primary health care in general, are detailed. Program organization, health care input costs, and population accessibility are considered as explanations of the observed differences in immunization costs. The feasibility of undertaking routine cost-effectiveness monitoring of immunization and other primary health care programs is considered. (author's)^ieng
