New Publication from MCSP Highlights Country’s Experiences

We are pleased to share a recent publication from the Maternal and Child Survival Program, Community Monitoring of Individual Children’s Vaccinations: Six Country Experiences.

This brief details MCHIP/MCSP experiences with community monitoring of vaccinations in India, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, and Zimbabwe. These efforts engage communities to monitor every child’s individual vaccinations, promote vaccination, and refer caregivers who have under-vaccinated children, often supported by use of the My Village is My Home (MVMH), initially developed in India as a public tracking tool to motivate families and create the social expectation that they keep their children up-to-date on vaccinations.

Although attributing coverage changes to community monitoring is challenging, countries experienced successes including higher coverage, improved timeliness, and more accurate target populations. In addition, both communities and health staff noted and appreciated a new sense of partnership and joint responsibility for children’s health.

The brief notes challenges that countries may face implementing community monitoring and the MVMH tool, including the selection and supervision of community collaborators, and incentives to reimburse volunteers for their time, effort, and expenses. Despite these challenges, use of the tool can help empower people to take control of their family’s health, enhance health literacy, hold health services accountable for providing more reliable vaccination sessions, and demonstrate an approach that could be adapted to improve health actions beyond immunization. Furthermore, such an approach encourages the health system to emphasize engagement and collaboration with communities.

Download the new USAID’s flagship Maternal and Child Survival Program’s latest publication, Community Monitoring of Individual Children’s Vaccinations: Six Country Experiences.