Welcome!
Our website is currently under maintenance. Please see below for a brief summary of our mission and work.
Our mission
We aim to ensure that all children get their basic vaccinations.
Only 65% of Indian children receive the full schedule of vaccinations, and India has more than one third of all unvaccinated children worldwide. As a result of this immunization gap, an estimated 1.2 million people in India die yearly from vaccine-preventable diseases. Our mission is to expand immunization coverage across India by implementing an intervention proven to be effective: sending SMS reminders to parents when their children are due for vaccination. In the next 5 years, we aim to expand this programme to reach millions of children.
Only 65% of Indian children receive the full schedule of vaccinations, and India has more than one third of all unvaccinated children worldwide. As a result of this immunization gap, an estimated 1.2 million people in India die yearly from vaccine-preventable diseases. Our mission is to expand immunization coverage across India by implementing an intervention proven to be effective: sending SMS reminders to parents when their children are due for vaccination. In the next 5 years, we aim to expand this programme to reach millions of children.
Programme
State government partnerships
In partnership with the Bihar state government, we enroll parents by digitising data from government health facilities.
Partnering with other NGOs
We have partnered with other NGOs who already work with low-income families. In synergy with their other programmes, our partner NGOs also support parents to enrol for our vaccine reminders. We are grateful to the following organisations for their support with this work:
- Doctors for You
- Society for Equity
- Noora Health
- Seva Mandir
Evidence
In our comprehensive search for the most promising ways to save lives in developing countries, we found nine randomized controlled trials (RCT) on text message reminders for vaccination. On average, these programs increased vaccination rates by a dramatic 7 percentage points, or 26% of all unvaccinated children. The studies, from Latin America, Africa, and South Asia, found strong effects regardless of country context, enrollment strategy, or baseline immunization rates.
Summary of studies
RCTs on voice call reminders for vaccination in Nigeria (Brown et al., 2015) and in-person reminders by health workers in Guatemala (Busso et al., 2015) found that both programs boosted immunization coverage. We also identified an unpublished report by Helen Keller International on a randomized evaluation on the impact of voice and text messages for immunization and Vitamin A supplementation in Côte d’Ivoire, which found an increase in measles vaccination and Vitamin A supplementation coverage.
There is even more research on the use of reminders for healthcare appointments in general. Two Cochrane reviews, Gurol-Urganci et al., 2013 and Vann et al., 2005 in particular, found again reminders to be an effective solution.
Parents care deeply about taking good care of their child’s health but often lack critical information about the most important steps they can take The evidence shows that SMS reminders work in not only for immunization but also for reminding mothers to seek follow-up Vitamin A supplementation (Thiaw, et al., 2013), improving breastfeeding practices (Lee, et al., 2016), and increasing utilization of antenatal care (Watterson, Walsh, & Madeka, 2015). We incorporate these and other messages into our personalized schedule of messages for each mother, when appropriate.
Summary of studies
RCTs on voice call reminders for vaccination in Nigeria (Brown et al., 2015) and in-person reminders by health workers in Guatemala (Busso et al., 2015) found that both programs boosted immunization coverage. We also identified an unpublished report by Helen Keller International on a randomized evaluation on the impact of voice and text messages for immunization and Vitamin A supplementation in Côte d’Ivoire, which found an increase in measles vaccination and Vitamin A supplementation coverage.
There is even more research on the use of reminders for healthcare appointments in general. Two Cochrane reviews, Gurol-Urganci et al., 2013 and Vann et al., 2005 in particular, found again reminders to be an effective solution.
Parents care deeply about taking good care of their child’s health but often lack critical information about the most important steps they can take The evidence shows that SMS reminders work in not only for immunization but also for reminding mothers to seek follow-up Vitamin A supplementation (Thiaw, et al., 2013), improving breastfeeding practices (Lee, et al., 2016), and increasing utilization of antenatal care (Watterson, Walsh, & Madeka, 2015). We incorporate these and other messages into our personalized schedule of messages for each mother, when appropriate.
FAQs
Why Immunizations?
We did extensive research and found that increasing immunization rates is one of the best and most cost-effective ways to improve human lives. By protecting children from dangerous diseases, immunizations both save lives and improve the quality of life in a population. In addition, increasing immunization rates accelerates the process of achieving “herd immunity” in a population: when a significant proportion of a population is inoculated against a disease, the pathogens causing the disease cannot find suitable hosts and have difficulty surviving in the population. This means that increasing immunization rates can help protect even those who are not immunized. So a program that effectively increases immunization rates enjoys a “multiplier effect” by benefiting even people that the program does not reach directly.
Why SmS reminders?
People’s lives are hectic, especially people who live in resource-constrained settings. For families with infants and young children, it is often difficult to fit a visit to a health clinic for a vaccination into an already hectic schedule. Research in behavioral science suggests that people often intend to do things but have difficulty following through—even on things they consider important. In these cases, a “nudge” in the form of a timely reminder or encouragement can often help people follow through. Research suggests that text message reminders are a cheap and effective way to provide this sort of nudge.
Why India?
India has both a significant vaccination gap and high rates of mobile phone ownership. The high mobile penetration means that SMS reminders for vaccinations can potentially reach a large percentage of the population, and the low vaccination rates suggest that there is significant room for interventions to improve the situation.
Indian parents miss vaccination appointments because life gets in the way In India, unlike in the world’s poorest countries, vaccine demand and caregiver follow-through are the primary challenge to increasing vaccination coverage—rather than availability of care or vaccine supply. In a UNICEF survey, parents most often attributed missed vaccinations to lack of perceived need and lack of knowledge about how and where to get vaccinations. People often require a nudge to help them follow through—even on things they consider important.
Indian parents miss vaccination appointments because life gets in the way In India, unlike in the world’s poorest countries, vaccine demand and caregiver follow-through are the primary challenge to increasing vaccination coverage—rather than availability of care or vaccine supply. In a UNICEF survey, parents most often attributed missed vaccinations to lack of perceived need and lack of knowledge about how and where to get vaccinations. People often require a nudge to help them follow through—even on things they consider important.
WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE CELL PHONES?
Our vaccination promoters always encourage caregivers to give a relative or neighbor's mobile number if their immediate family does not own a phone.
DO PARTICIPANTS HAVE TO PAY TO RECEIVE SMS MESSAGES?
No. Our services are completely free for participants. Incoming text messages are always free on mobile phones in India, so participants never have to worry about being charged for participating in our program.
CAN PEOPLE RECEIVE MESSAGES IF THEY ARE REGISTERED FOR THE DO NOT DISTURB (DND) LIST?
Yes. The DnD list applies only to unsolicited promotional messages. By agreeing to sign up for our SMS services, participants consent to receive messages from us and our messages will be permitted under the DnD.
When do people receive these SMS reminders?
Participants receive two reminders for every scheduled vaccination, one sent one week before the vaccination is scheduled, and one sent the day before.
Which vaccines do people receive SMS reminders for?
Our reminders cover all of the vaccines recommended under India’s Universal Immunization Plan. This includes BCG (Bacillus Calmette Guerin), OPV (Oral Polio Vaccine), measles, Td (Tetanus, Diphtheria), and the pentavalent vaccine, which is five vaccines in one: Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus (DPT), hepatitis B, and haemophilus influenzae. In addition, as the rotavirus vaccine is rolled out, our reminders will also cover this.
Do you send any other SMS messages beyond vaccine reminders?
In addition to vaccination reminders, we send reminders about antenatal care check-ups and exclusive breastfeeding when appropriate.