Making COVID-19 vaccination available to the socially marginalized
Vaccine supply, logistics and human resources, are the socio-behavioral obstacles of limited information, vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, rumor and misunderstanding that limit acceptance and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. For many communities who leave far away from city centers where most primary healthcare facilities exist, many have complained how challenging it is for them to access basic and protective healthcare, like vaccines.
Pastor Saminu Ali is a 35-year-old farmer and livestock rearer who lives in Gwange community, Yobe state. Saminu shared how the Mercy Corps-supported mobile vaccination team made it simple for him and the residents of his community to receive vaccination. He listed a number of factors that contributed to his delayed vaccination, including lengthy travel times, access restrictions, mobility concerns, and busy work and family schedules.
To address the identified gap in vaccine logistics from Local Government Area (LGA) stores to service delivery points across implementation wards, the COVID-19 Vaccine Access program provided logistical support for COVID-19 immunization team members in Damaturu and Potiskum LGAs, Yobe state. This assistance takes the form of daily transportation stipends to and from the LGAs store to the Primary Healthcare Center (PHC) , down to the receiver.
Without this program, I would not have received my vaccinations.
Pastor Saminu Ali, COVID-19 Vaccine Access Program participant
“When I decided to get the vaccine, it took a lot of courage for me to walk to the primary health care in my community to get vaccinated. Before this intervention, people had to walk to the primary health care to get the vaccine, which was one of the reasons for vaccine hesitancy as many people live far from the facility. Through the assistance of Mercy Corps, we have a mobile vaccination team that travels to various communities to administer the vaccine,” said Pastor Ali.
Saminu had a chronic cough and catarrh before getting the COVID-19 vaccine; he shared that the harmattan season is usually when he feels the worst. Saminu was happy to discuss additional advantages of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Ever since I received the COVID-19 vaccine, I have not experienced catarrh or cough, I can attest to the effectiveness of the vaccine because I also permitted my wife to receive it,” he said.
“Without this program, I would not have received my vaccinations, and I know that many others would not have either. I am very grateful to Mercy Corps for providing such a wonderful intervention in our community, and I hope that this program will continue and even spread to other areas where there are still people who are unaware of the advantages of vaccination.”
Mercy Corps, through the COVID-19 Vaccine Access Program, is addressing vaccine access challenges across communities of implementation, bringing vaccination services closer to communities in need on a small scale.
About the Vaccine Access Program
Mercy Corps Nigeria and CARE International as members of the INGO collaborative are implementing the COVID-19 Vaccine Access Program in Yobe State. The program goal is to improve COVID-19 vaccination coverage by increasing vaccine confidence, acceptance and uptake in vulnerable communities in Yobe State. It will document and share those lessons and approaches broadly for increase vaccination coverage in Nigeria.