The power of reaching every child
In Nepal’s west, targeted efforts to identify and engage vaccine-hesitant families through support from GAVI and UNICEF are proving key in ensuring no child is left unvaccinated
Surkhet, Nepal: Bipana BK remembers the first time she came across little Mohammad Ayan. The second among three children in a family living in Birendranagar in Surkhet District in western Nepal, he was a small, bright-eyed child, almost two years of age. Upon talking to father Mohammad Ajaj and mother Sannam Khatun, however, Bipana would learn that the little boy had yet to receive any of his childhood vaccinations.
Bipana was one of the volunteers deployed by the local government – with support from GAVI and UNICEF – to identify children who have not yet received any vaccines (‘zero-dose’ children), and those who have not completed their doses as per the national vaccination schedule, during the recent nationwide measles-rubella (MR) vaccination campaign.
As soon as she found out that Ayan had not received his vaccines, she swept into action, starting with talking at length to the child’s parents, seeking to understand why they had failed to get the child vaccinated.
“The family had limited understanding about immunization,” Bipana recalls.
"Because they were only temporary residents of the area, they also did not know if they were eligible for the vaccines.”
Based on insights from her conversations with the caregivers, Bipana proceeded to counsel them about how important these vaccines were for their child’s health, and how it was available to all children. She also brought in other people, including a local healthworker, UNICEF staff as well as the municipality’s immunization coordinator to further bolster her case with the parents.
Eventually, there was a breakthrough, and the family proved willing to take up the invitation to visit the nearby vaccination center. Not only did Ayan receive the MR vaccine, but he was also able to catch up on the essential Penta, PCV, and IPV vaccines.
In this way, the MR vaccination campaign has proved a turning point for many families across the country, where targeted efforts to engage communities and increase awareness and demand for vaccines among them have helped to pinpoint and vaccinate children who would otherwise have fallen through the cracks.
