Every morning, Pedro José leaves his home in Mopeia District, Zambézia Province, with a clear mission: to help ensure that no child in his community misses the protection that vaccines provide. As a community health worker (CHW) serving families in Mopeia, Pedro knows the communities he works with and regularly engages caregivers about the importance of routine immunization and other essential health services.
Reaching children with vaccination services remains a challenge in many rural communities. Even when mobile brigades reach isolated settlements, some children still miss vaccination sessions or fail to complete their vaccination schedules. The challenge is therefore not only reaching communities with services, but also strengthening the connection between families and the health system. Addressing this gap means strengthening community-level communication, prioritization and follow-up, while improving coordination between CHWs, health facilities and health teams.
Pedro’s work reached a turning point when he attended a Bate-Papo Vacina! (Let’s Talk About Vaccines!) training, a joint initiative by VillageReach and Mozambique’s Ministry of Health (MISAU). Through the program, he strengthened his interpersonal skills to effectively engage caregivers, spot children missing key doses and partner with local health teams to track and follow up on vaccinations.
Training of CHWs in Mopeia District, Zambezia Province. Photo credit: Lidia Jahar
Equipped with these skills, Pedro began using respectful, two-way conversations with families. Using community-level information and the tools introduced through Bate-Papo, he helps identify children who are due or have missed vaccinations and prioritizes families for follow-up.
This work complements the Ministry of Health’s Reaching Every District/Reaching Every Community (RED/REC) approach to microplanning by helping connect community-level information with routine immunization activities. Rather than waiting for families to attend vaccination sessions, Pedro helps identify children who need follow-up, engages families in their communities and addresses questions and concerns about vaccination.
Through these conversations, he helps caregivers understand the importance of completing their children’s vaccination schedules and staying connected to available vaccination services. Pedro says he has seen changes in how caregivers engage with vaccination since Bate-Papo was introduced.
“Before Bate-Papo, mothers rarely brought their children for vaccinations because the information wasn’t clear to them,” Pedro explains. “Now, more caregivers understand when their children are due for vaccination and are more likely to follow up.”
Following a recent Bate-Papo refresher training focused on strengthening coordination between community actors and health teams, Pedro returned to his community with renewed confidence and commitment.
“Accepting the call to be a health worker is a source of pure pride,” Pedro reflects. “Working for the well-being of my neighbors isn’t just a job, saving lives is my lifestyle.”