Let’s Talk About Vaccines!
Malawi Sees Immunization Increase Thanks to Community Engagement, New Report Reveals
A new evaluation report has spotlighted the success of the Let’s Talk About Vaccines! project to improve under-two immunization coverage in Lilongwe and Mzimba North, Malawi. The three-year initiative, funded by Wellcome and implemented by VillageReach in partnership with the Malawi Ministry of Health...
VillageReach Board Members Meet and Learn in the Warm Heart of Africa
This May I embarked, with fellow VillageReach board members, on a long-awaited journey to Malawi, and what a beautiful country it is. It’s no wonder Malawi is known as “The Warm Heart of Africa.” Although it had been eight years since I last visited...
Creative Catalysts: Enhancing Vaccination Rates in Malawi
Originally published in the VillageReach 2023 Annual Impact Report, “Running the Race, Together.” In Malawi, a blend of drama and talking books (1) is driving change in vaccination rates among children. Through the Let’s Talk About Vaccines! project, a collaboration between the Malawi Ministry...
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
Identifying context- specific drivers of routine childhood immunisation dropout in Mozambique and Malawi: a secondary thematic analysis of qualitative community- based participatory research data
A perspective on essential components for adaptability and scalability to enhance equity-driven vaccination interventions: lessons from Mozambique and Malawi
Endline Evaluation of the ‘Let’s Talk About Vaccines!’ Project in Malawi
Enhancing childhood immunization coverage in Mozambique and Malawi
Co-Creating Health Solutions – Participatory Research and Human-Centered Design for Immunization Programs
Gender Analysis – Late Infancy Immunization Study
Bate-Papo Vacina! Endline Evaluation Report
Using community-based, participatory qualitative research to identify determinants of routine vaccination drop-out in Malawi
Evaluation of a multisite community-based participatory immunization project
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
Related Global Impact
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