Where We Work | Program
Let’s Talk About Vaccines!
Community health workers as vaccinators: A pathway to achieving global immunisation goals
Originally posted on Gavi.org. A shortage of health workers has made the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in many lower-income countries a major challenge. In Malawi, community health workers are helping to fill the gap. The roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine has encountered issues with...Background
In Malawi, 73% of children aged 12-23 are vaccinated, falling short of the Malawi Government’s goal of over 80% coverage. Geographic disparities play a role, with children in northern regions having higher rates of full vaccination than children in southern regions1. To address the barriers children under two and their caregivers face in achieving full vaccination, VillageReach and our collaborators apply participatory research methods to amplify caregiver and health care worker voices to identify these challenges and explore solutions by using photo-narrative interviews with caregivers, SMS observations through text exchanges and human-centered design (HCD) workshops. We are conducting the study in Lilongwe, an urban environment, and Mzimba North, a rural environment.
How It Works
- We are conducting the research in three phases: (1) identify drivers of routine immunization dropout and potential community-based solutions; (2) implement one community-based solution; and (3) evaluate the human-centered design/community-based participatory approach and the impact of the implemented solution. Malawi is currently in the implementation phase.
Resources
Let’s Talk About Vaccines – Key Findings From Malawi
Bate-Papo Vacina!
Let’s Talk About Vaccines Study Overview
Partners
Technical Partners
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University of Western Cape
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University of Cape Town
Donors
- Wellcome Trust
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