Community mobilizers fight vaccine hesitancy among rural women in Yirol East County

On a hot and humid day, a Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE) vaccination team deployed to Atit village, sit under a big tree near the community water point, where women come to fetch water. The team have waited sometime for women of children bearing age to turn up for vaccination but only a few are coming.

The community mobilizers had gone out into the villages with intensive awareness messages using megaphones and walking from house-to-house to inform eligible women of childbearing age to receive the vaccine. Many women hesitated to come because they have been misinformed that the vaccine could cause infertility among women.

When the team arrived at the vaccination post, they met Agau Akuchpiir, a 23-year-old mother of three children.

 “No, I don’t want to be vaccinated because I think it is not good for me,” said Agau. Calmly, the community mobilizers along with the health officer and the immunization supervisor from the Ministry of Health explained to her about the safety provided by the Tetanus Toxoid and diphtheria vaccines.

After some short discussions with the experts, Agau agreed to be vaccinated. “Now, I am convinced and believe this vaccine will protect me from the disease,” she said. She promised the team that she would go back to her village and inform her friends to come and get vaccinated also.

Many women of childbearing age in her village, held similar beliefs and misperceptions about vaccines. However, with the intervention of community mobilizers who engaged community leaders and explained to them in detail the benefits of vaccination, many women of childbearing age were convinced to get immunized.

Many women of childbearing age in her village, held similar beliefs and misperceptions about vaccines. However, with the intervention of community mobilizers who engaged community leaders and explained to them in detail the benefits of vaccination, many women of childbearing age were convinced to get immunized.

The tetanus infection can easily kill a pregnant mother during pregnancy or childbirth. It has also killed many babies during birthing where delivery occurs outside healthcare facilities.

UNICEF supports the Ministry of Health to conduct the Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE) initiative to reduce maternal and neonatal tetanus cases to very low levels so that the disease is no longer a major public health problem.

The MNTE campaign in Yirol East county targeted 54,372 women of childbearing age for tetanus toxoid and diphtheria vaccinations. Despite the challenges, UNICEF supported 27 social mobilizers, 148 vaccinators, 74 recorders and 74 crowd controllers to successfully implement the campaign and reach women of childbearing age with lifesaving vaccines in hard-to-reach villages in Yirol East of Lakes State, South Sudan.

The community mobilizers use effective community mobilization strategies and a variety of communication channels such as house to house visits and megaphone announcement campaigns in villages and marketplaces.  They also engage with local community leaders, through churches and community gathering places and reached 146,060 people with lifesaving messages during the MNTE campaign in Yirol East County.

The maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination (MNTE) campaigns are supported through UNICEF national committees and funding from Procter & Gamble – Pampers.

UNICEF would also like to thank donors such as GAVI, the World Bank and Government of Germany through KfW Development Bank for supporting the cold chain systems and vaccine deployment in South Sudan.