ACCELERATOR

Immunization
Innovation Lab

An Accelerator to Support Local Innovators in East Africa, Empowering Caregivers and Communities in Public Health
Learn more about the program design, impact data, and growth insights.
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT

Vaccines allow people around the world to lead full and healthy lives.

The reality: globally, 1 in 10 infants still does not receive all their vaccines—mostly in the world’s poorest and most historically under-invested communities (Source: WHO). Despite many organizations focusing their efforts and resources toward this issue, meeting the needs of un/under immunized children and caregivers remains a pressing challenge.
Through the Empowering Caregivers in Immunization Challenge, launched in 2019, IDEO and the Gates Foundation convened nearly 20,000 change-makers from over 120 countries aroundthe world. The goal was to support the adherence of vaccine immunizations within regions that have not yet reached equity in access or distribution. Together, the global community tackled this design challenge:

How might we empower caregivers to seek and fully utilize immunization services in their communities?

Following the Challenge, five promising innovations were invited to join the IDEO Immunization Innovation Lab. This program supported their implementation in East Africa via additional funding, mentorship coaching, and design collaboration. Founded upon the belief that people’s experiences, perceptions, and preferences are critical to bringing about the behavior change needed to bridge the immunization gap, the five-month accelerator program took a human-centered approach to shift health ecosystems in the region.

These learnings culminated in a Report that presents key challenges faced by early-stage organizations across East Africa, opportunity areas for support from stakeholders—from policymakers to the philanthropic sector—and growth outcomes from each team. From a young Maasai mother in rural Tanzania, to a clinician rebuilding healthcare systems in Somalia, the Report also highlights the human stories of brave caregivers and clinicians, and the community advocates that support them.

Cohort Growth


In just a few months, teams accelerated their progress and growth in some big ways.

Video produced by Musila Munuve

COVID-19 Pivot

Throughout the program, teams creatively leveraged resources to pivot and evolve their projects. Particularly from January 2020 onward, the teams’ deep connection to their communities enabled their resilience amidst seismic ecosystem shifts caused by COVID-19.

From using their platforms to run education campaigns that reached thousands to finding creative safe ways to protect and expand health services, each organization worked hard to support community while facing rapid shifts. In the report, learn more about how each team pivoted to respond to this uncertain time.
Throughout the program, teams creatively leveraged resources to pivot and evolve their projects. Particularly from January 2020 onward, the teams’ deep connection to their communities enabled their resilience amidst seismic ecosystem shifts caused by COVID-19.

From using their platforms to run education campaigns that reached thousands to finding creative safe ways to protect and expand health services, each organization worked hard to support community while facing rapid shifts. In the report, learn more about how each team pivoted to respond to this uncertain time.

Meet the Teams


OGOW EMR

Electronic registry app for caregivers & clinicians | Somalia
OGOW EMR created a desktop and mobile app for medical records, inventory management, and caregiver immunization data that not only provides a digital copy of child immunization records, but also includes a calendar schedule for adherence, educational materials, and Q&A functionality in Somali and English. OGOW’s customized portal and dashboard enable strategic and effective use of quantitative and qualitative data to monitor, learn, and communicate health surveillance metrics.

The teams now partner with World Vision to help run COVID-19 awareness campaigns in Somali, endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Health. They are working alongside community champions to increase local education and uptake. Additionally, they’ve partnered with SomRep a consortium of seven major international agencies that adopted the OGOW EMR  app to target over 45,000 pastoralists from across 45 villages with COVID-19 risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) interventions.

Help OGOW EMR expand its health records system and meet the needs of caregivers and frontline workers across Somalia. Donate or Collaborate with OGOW.


STAMP

Innovative community-led caregiver reward system | Kiambu and Nairobi, Kenya
STAMP CLEANTECH created a royalty rewards program that strengthens community-owned immunization advocacy processes, resulting in a transformative approach to immunization and vaccine adherence. The organization benefits children—aged 0-12 months—and their caregivers, by addressing the unique barriers to immunization uptake due to lack of accessible, trusted health information in Kiambu and Nairobi, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

STAMP is raising $200,000 for its SCREAM IT Initiative, which will expand its communications, community engagement, and COVID-19 response work to ensure that fear and lack of knowledge or resources don't get in the way of infants receiving the immunizations they need to be healthy. Support them by getting in touch here.


MAMA CHANJO

Masaai caregiver champion program | Moita Kiloriti, Tanzania
Mama Chanjo empowers Maasai mothers and their communities to become a part of the solution for immunization uptake and improved maternal/baby health in their communities. Their goal is to support and promote child immunization to ensure the full physical, emotional, and intellectual development of mothers and babies in Moita Kiloriti, Tanzania. The team designed and launched an Immunization Champion Program, working with young Maasai mothers especially adherent to immunization schedules, to teach other mothers in the community about the importance of vaccines and maternal health.

The team is already seeing the impact of training of Champions who were involved. This impact will continue to have a ripple effect in communities as others are mobilized, including grandmothers, mothers, fathers, traditional community leaders, teachers, and health workers.

Help scale Mama Chanjo's work to other communities by partnering with the team.


BIC SHANTI

Empowering Teen Mothers | Luwero, Uganda
The Shanti Birth House, operated by Budondo Intercultural Center, is focused on improving maternal and infant health in Uganda. The project funded through this program is specifically focused on increasing immunization uptake for teen moms in Luwero. The team is doing this through a two-pronged approach: 1) An education and awareness campaign for young mothers and their partners, and leveraging community health champions. 2) Tackling some of the root causes they’ve identified for young mothers by providing holistic care and opportunities for economic empowerment in partnership with local governments.

Learn more about BIC Shanti's work and ways to support.


PCI

Male champion program | Mukono, Uganda
Piloting in three under-immunized communities (urban, rural, and island) in Uganda’s Mukono district, the PCI team trained and activated male champions to educate community members about immunization through the use of mobilization trackers and board games. These male champions are changing the perception that “immunization is a woman’s issue” and are creating community ownership over child healthcare. In response to COVID-19, PCI updated their education materials to sensitize champions regarding prevention methods, and increased community outreach to promote social distancing.

PCI is raising $195,000 to enable the scale up and response to the immunization services across Mukono and eight more districts in Uganda as limitations in movement due to COVID-19 are escalating the already low uptake of immunization services. Learn more about PCI and donate to support their community.