Cost analysis of an innovative eHealth program in Nigeria: a case study of the vaccine direct delivery system

INTRODUCTION: Vaccine stockout is a severe problem in Africa, including Nigeria, which could have an adverse effect on vaccination coverage and even health outcomes among the population. The Vaccine Direct Delivery (VDD) program was introduced to manage vaccine stockouts using eHealth technology. This study conducts a cost analysis of the VDD program and calculates the incremental costs of reaching an additional child for vaccination through the VDD program. METHODS: We used the expense reports from eHealth Africa, an NGO which implemented the VDD program, to calculate the VDD program’s overall operating costs. We also used the findings from the literature to translate the effect of VDD on the reduction of vaccine stockouts into its effect on the increase in vaccination coverage. We calculated the incremental costs of reaching an additional child for vaccination through the VDD program. RESULTS: We calculated that implementing the VDD program cost USD10,555 monthly for the 42 months that the VDD program was operating in Bauchi state. This figure translates to an incremental cost of USD20.6 to reach one additional child for vaccination. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: Our study is one of the first to conduct a cost analysis of eHealth technology in Africa. The incremental cost of USD20.6 was within the range of other interventions that intended to increase vaccine uptake in low- and middle-income countries. The VDD program is a promising technology to substantially reduce vaccine stockout, leading to a reduction of over 55% at a reasonable cost, representing 26% of the total budget for routine immunization activities in Bauchi state. However, there is no comparable costing study that evaluates the cost of a supply chain strengthening intervention. Future studies should investigate further the feasibility of eHealth technology, as well as how to minimize its costs of implementation while keeping the efficacy of the program. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-16575-x.