Health providers have always been an important and trusted source of information for parents and caregivers in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region and beyond. The way they interact with families and the quality of their communication and engagement may have a positive or negative influence on caregivers’ decision to immunize their children. Research in ECA has shown that health workers do not always engage with caregivers in an open and supportive way, often using a patronizing and top-down approach in communication. As a result of time constraints and limited communication capacities, they often fail to understand the immunization-related concerns, fears and expectations of caregivers and fail to identify and address vaccine hesitancy. To help strengthen the communication and community engagement skills of front-line workers, the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) has developed this interactive and evidence-based training package to identify and address their own biases and misconceptions and to equip them with the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need for positive and meaningful interpersonal communication. It consist of a Facilitator Guide, Participant Manual and a set of Presentations. Options Available options Facilitator guide Participant manual Presentation Download file (PDF, 5,62 MB) (PDF, 5,57 MB) (PDF, 11,88 MB) November 2019

Health providers have always been an important and trusted source of information for parents and caregivers in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region and beyond. The way they interact with families and the quality of their communication and engagement may have a positive or negative influence on caregivers’ decision to immunize their children. Download file (PDF, 11,88 MB) November 2018

Good interpersonal communication can mean the difference between a child being fully immunized or not at all. This Interpersonal Communication for Immunization Participant manual seeks to help health workers value, acquire, and consistently use the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to communicate effectively with caregivers and communities about childhood immunization. Interpersonal communication for immunization capacity development is critical. Almost every study of health worker practices in the region finds that interpersonal communication for immunization overall is weak. Yet, at the same time, the vast majority of caregivers of young children cite health workers as their primary source of information about immunization. Health workers and health services must close this gap if nations and the world are to achieve universal immunization.  Download file (PDF, 5,57 MB) November 2019

Health providers have always been an important and trusted source of information for parents and caregivers in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region and beyond. The way they interact with families and the quality of their communication and engagement may have a positive or negative influence on caregivers’ decision to immunize their children. Research in ECA has shown that health workers do not always engage with caregivers in an open and supportive way, often using a patronizing and top-down approach in communication. As a result of time constraints and limited communication capacities, they often fail to understand the immuni-zation-related concerns, fears and expectations of caregivers and fail to identify and address vaccine hesitancy. To help strengthen the communication and community engagement skills of front-line workers, the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) has developed this interactive and evidence-based training package to identify and address their own biases and misconceptions and to equip them with the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need for positive and meaningful interpersonal communication. Download file (PDF, 5,62 MB) November 2019

Vaccination is one of the world’s safest and most cost-effective public health interventions. Yet growing distrust in science, coupled with misinformation, means that vaccination coverage rates are declining in some countries and communities, resulting in an upsurge of vaccine-preventable diseases. Research shows that those caring for children…

This UNICEF working paper aims to track and analyse online anti-vaccination sentiment in social media networks by examining conversations across social media in English, Russian, Romanian and Polish. The findings support the assumption that parents actively use social networks and blogs to inform their decisions on vaccinating their children. The…

More than 1.3 million children have made their way to Europe since 2014, fleeing conflict, persecution and poverty in their own countries. They include at least 225,000 children travelling alone – most of them teenage boys – as well as 500,000 children under the age of five. In 2019 alone, almost 32,000 children (8,000 of them unaccompanied or separated) reached Europe via the Mediterranean after perilous journeys from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and many parts of Africa – journeys that have threatened their lives and their health. Many have come from countries with broken health systems, travelling for months (even years) with no access to health care and facing the constant risks of violence and exploitation along the way. Many girls and boys arriving in Europe have missed out on life-saving immunization and have experienced serious distress or even mental health problems. They may be carrying the physical and emotional scars of violence, including sexual abuse. The health of infants and mothers who are pregnant or breastfeeding has been put at risk by a lack of pre- and post-natal health services and of support for child nutrition. Two girls wash a pot in the common washing area of the Reception and Identification Centre in Moria, on the island of Lesvos, in Greece. Two girls wash a pot in the common washing area of the Reception and Identification Centre in Moria, on the island of Lesvos, in Greece. Child refugees and migrants also face an increased health risk as a result of crowded and unhygienic living conditions during their journeys and at their destinations. Even upon their arrival in Europe, refugee and migrant children and families often face continued barriers to their health care, such as cultural issues, bureaucracy, and a lack of information in their own language. Southern and South East European countries are at the heart of this challenge, struggling to meet the immediate needs of vulnerable refugee and migrant children. And now, an already serious problem is being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Refugee checks on his son