Oral presentation at the 13th Meeting of the International Society of Pneumonia and Pneumococcal Diseases

PhD student Fulgence Niyibitegeka of the Economics of Global Health and Infectious Diseases Unit presented his study “Inequitable distribution of global economic benefits from pneumococcal conjugate vaccination” at the 13th Meeting of the International Society of Pneumonia and Pneumococcal Diseases (ISPPD-13), held in Cape Town, South Africa from 17-20th March, 2024.

During his presentation, he discussed research findings highlighting the inadequacies of current vaccine pricing policies, which disproportionately favour high-income countries (HICs) and manufacturers. These policies result in HICs and manufacturers receiving over 76% of the total social welfare from pneumococcal conjugate vaccination. To address these inequalities, he proposed solutions such as adopting appropriate pooled procurement mechanisms, promoting vaccine manufacturing in low- and middle-income countries, and implementing more steeply tiered prices.

His presentation sparked keen interest and enthusiasm among attendees, and as a result, Fulgence was nominated as a Young Investigator Award Finalist.

The study's findings are expected to be published in a leading scientific journal later this year.

For more information, please contact
Mr Fulgence Niyibitegeka
fulgence.niyibitegeka@student.unimelb.edu.au