Charity Science Health (CSH), a GiveWell-incubated non-profit, sends SMS reminders to mothers in India to help them remember when it is time to get their child vaccinated. Mobile vaccination reminders increase vaccination rates by 7 percentage points on average. They cost only a few cents. We have reached over 250,000 families across India with these life-saving reminders, and we’ve now forged a clear path to scale through the public health system and alongside a wide network of NGO partners.
We are merging with Suvita! Keep an eye out out for a full announcement soon. Like Charity Science Health, Suvita focuses on information spread to increase vaccination uptake - their programme uses the medium of community ambassadors rather than SMS reminders. Emerging evidence suggests that a combination of both these methods is more effective and more cost-effective than either in isolation. We are now exploring how to integrate these two programmes in the geographical regions where each charity operates. Find out more about Suvita's work here.
CORE PRINCIPLES
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cost-effective |
evidence-based |
scalable |
our approach |
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Vaccine reminders cost only pennies per family reached: sending our full series of text message costs only $0.03, and acquiring phone numbers through existing data collection systems costs less than a dollar. GiveWell’s calculations suggest that vaccine reminders have similar cost-effectiveness to the most cost-effective interventions currently known.
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Nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on immunization SMS reminders in low- and middle-income countries found an average increase in vaccination coverage of 7 percentage points. We are committed to test the effectiveness of our own program through a rigorous evaluation. Read more about the evidence here.
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SMS reminders are easily replicable and scalable across India. With over 90% of Indian families having access to a mobile phone, SMS reminders could reach nearly all of the 9 million families who don't complete their child's vaccination by her first birthday.
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We use existing health systems to sign up caregivers and pregnant mothers. We ensure that health reminders are integrated into state government’s systems or local NGOs’ programs so that they are owned and sustained. Find out who our partners are here.
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GiveWell has independently reviewed and found SMS reminders for immunization an effective intervention. You can read the full report here.
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