Introducing local communities to their Cranky Uncle
How teams in Ghana and Tanzania reached out to their key audiences to get them playing and amplifying the Cranky Uncle Vaccine game
About
All of us know a cranky uncle – the kind of science-denying individual who uses misinformation and disinformation tricks to erode trust in vaccines and who’s the unconventional “star” of the Cranky Uncle Vaccine game. The game can be played on a phone, tablet, computer or entirely offline and helps players develop critical thinking to counter these tricks, combining three critical, science-backed techniques—active inoculation, gamification, and humor—to combat vaccine misinformation and drive vaccination.
Cranky Uncle Vaccine has now been launched in four pilot countries – Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya – after a that closely involved local stakeholders to make sure the game and its characters are tailored to the context of each country. This crucial factor in improving engagement, skill-building, and ultimately, vaccine confidence and uptake is also at the heart of each country’s approach to launching the game and finding ways to make sure it reaches local populations.
