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Problem
Although India is making strong strides toward achieving the zero-dose goal set by the Immunization Agenda 2030, millions of children in India still do not receive their vaccinations.
The significant number of preventable diseases and deaths persist despite India’s early contributions to vaccine research and development, its current position as a leading global producer of vaccines, and significant progress in strengthening vaccine supply over recent years due to government investment.
Solution
The high number of unvaccinated children can be attributed to a range of factors, including socio-economic disparities and cultural beliefs that might hinder vaccine acceptance.
One effective approach to addressing some of these challenges is a combination of targeted communication strategies and active community engagement, both of which are crucial for building trust and combating misinformation within communities.
Suvita implements this approach in two ways:
Caregivers receive SMS notifications and voice calls about upcoming opportunities to have their children vaccinated.
Local immunisation ambassadors are enlisted who receive one text message and one voice call every month asking them to remind their friends, family, and other community members of the value of immunisation.
Evidence:
A large-scale randomised controlled trial was conducted to identify interventions that lead to uptake in vaccination rates. The effort was led by a team from MIT's Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), including two recent Nobel laureates, Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee.
Testing various solutions, they found that a combination of immunisation ambassadors and SMS reminders increased the number of children going to government-run immunisation camps by 25% and was more cost-effective than other interventions tested. Many other studies have also proved the efficacy of SMS interventions in increasing uptake in vaccine adoption.
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