Webinar Recording: Equity in Action - Local Strategies for Reaching Zero-Dose Children and Communities

"I learned that zero-dose children are not just in rural underserved settlements but also found in urban and peri urban settings."

This webinar shares case studies from the frontlines to reveal how practitioners in Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda are developing tailored local solutions to bring equity to immunisation. Organised by The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) and the Zero-Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH), the interactive session analyses how practitioners in the four countries are overcoming barriers to reach zero-dose (ZD) children through unique approaches to identifying missed individuals and communities, microplanning, community engagement, and integrating services. 

The webinar was held as part of the work of the ZDLH, established by Gavi, which seeks to use evidence to better understand the factors influencing implementation and performance of approaches to identify and reach ZD and under-immunised children and missed communities. The ZDLH consortium is led by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) in collaboration with TGLF and the International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR). Together with four Country Learning Hubs (CLHs) in Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda, the consortium aims to produce high-quality data and insights to better understand zero-dose children and how to reach them effectively. 

The webinar session starts with a description of the work of the ZDLH and the method and approach used to gather insights into what works and how. In brief, the ZDLH-X approach involves a network of ZD practitioners and is designed to strengthen continuous learning through peer learning events and knowledge sharing and networking opportunities where experiences and strategies to reach every child with life-saving vaccinations are shared.

This discussion is followed by a description of some of the case studies that have been submitted by ZD practitioners as part of previously held peer-to-peer exchanges. Each case study outlines the challenge, the approaches taken, and the details of the intervention, as well as lessons learned by practitioners. Overall, the stories are meant to provide actionable, replicable strategies that can be applied at the community and sub-national levels across a range of contexts. 

The case studies from Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda highlight strategies used in the following key areas:

• Finding clusters of children and communities consistently missed by immunisation services (Bangladesh): The strategy highlighted here used data from surveillance monitoring, hospital records, rapid convenience monitoring, and other methods to identify and vaccinate ZD and missed communities in an urban area. Those missed included, for example, slum dwellers, fishermen, and migrant populations.
• Community engagement to consistently find and vaccinate children in urban, rural remote, and conflict-affected areas (Mali): Strategies included communicating with the children's fathers, identifying all the live births with the help of relays (volunteers who act as a link between the health services and the village population), and convincing village chiefs to ensure the movement of the vaccinators.
• Integration - maximising opportunities to reach ZD children and missed opportunities (Nigeria or Uganda): Strategies included using antenatal care (ANC) data to follow up on births and vaccination, as well as integrating services and conducting special outreaches at community events.
• Microplanning - revising microplans on a continuous basis to better address ZD challenges (Uganda): Strategies included revising microplans to focus more on ZD and under-immunised children by leveraging women's collectives and traditional leaders, as well as redesigning outreaches to reach more ZD by making better use of mobilisers.

The speakers are:

• Reda Sadki, Learning Science Specialist, CEO, TGLF, ZDLH
• Jenny Sequeira, Immunization and Strategic Technical Advisor, TGLF, ZDLH
• Heidi Reynolds, Senior Specialist, Evaluation and Learning, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance
• Frontline health workers from Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda

Important documentation:

• Webinar recording with French translation
• Presentation slides in English in PDF format [PDF, 63 pages]
• Presentation slides in French in PDF format [PDF, 63 pages]
   

More details on the case studies can be obtained from the following ZDLH inter-country peer learning exchange events: 
 

• Early Learning from Zero-Dose Practitioners in Bangladesh and Mali: Gavi ZDLH Inter-Country Peer Exchange (ZDLH-X1)
• Early Learning from Zero-Dose Practitioners in Nigeria and Uganda: Gavi ZDLH Inter-Country Peer Exchange (ZDLH-X2)