Projection of Costs of Polio Eradication Compared to Permanent Control

Abstract

Despite increased efforts and spending toward polio eradication, it has yet to be eliminated worldwide. We aimed to project economic costs of polio eradication compared to permanent control. We used historical Financial Resource Requirements from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, as well as vaccination and population data from publicly available sources, to project costs for routine immunization, immunization campaigns, surveillance and laboratory resources, technical assistance, social mobilization, treatment, and overhead. We found that cumulative spending for a control strategy would exceed that for an eradication strategy in 2032 (range, 2027-2051). Eradication of polio would likely be cost-saving compared to permanent control.