The urban-poor vaccination: Challenges and strategies in low-and-middle income countries

Abstract

Vaccination is one of the success stories of public health. The benefit of vaccination goes beyond individual protection to include promoting population well-being, improving cognitive development, and increasing economic productivity. However, the existing inequalities in the access to vaccination undermines its impact. There are significant variations in the coverage of vaccination between and within countries. Despite that urban populations have better access to health services; evidence has shown that the urban poor have the worst health indicators including vaccination uptake. Additionally, there are unique challenges affecting vaccination in urban settings, especially in urban slums. This paper has discussed key challenges some of the proposed interventions that can improve urban vaccination service delivery.

Exploring the challenges and interventions of urban-poor vaccination in the Philippines

“…In the same way, the strategies recommended were active community engagement, multifaceted vaccination strategies, and adaptable/flexible immunization services. 1 I firmly support the authors’ claims and want to flesh out some of these challenges and strategies by presenting specifically the context of the Philippines, a lower-middle-income country. I also propose additional interventions to increase the vaccination rate in Metro Manila for better public health.…”

Exploring the “Urban Advantage” in Access to Immunization Services: A Comparison of Zero-Dose Prevalence Between Rural, and Poor and Non-poor Urban Households Across 97 Low- and Middle-Income Countries

“…Our results highlight both the challenges and the opportunities in achieving simultaneously the Sustainable Development Goals 3 (“Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages,” including universal access to vaccines [ 32 ]) and 11 (“Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” [ 33 ]) in the context of LMICs. The urban poor are often more mobile, have more inflexible work schedules, and are from diverse cultural backgrounds [ 34 ]. This makes them harder to reach by health workers and standardized public health interventions and programs, increasing the barriers to continuity of care [ 34 ].…”

“…The urban poor are often more mobile, have more inflexible work schedules, and are from diverse cultural backgrounds [ 34 ]. This makes them harder to reach by health workers and standardized public health interventions and programs, increasing the barriers to continuity of care [ 34 ]. Interventions with community involvement that tackle the specific needs of poor urban communities are a possible pathway for reducing those inequalities and the number of zero-dose children [ 35 ].…”

“…Interventions with community involvement that tackle the specific needs of poor urban communities are a possible pathway for reducing those inequalities and the number of zero-dose children [ 35 ]. They can include flexible and extended service hours, staff training, geographical monitoring, outreach programs, new vaccination sites (e.g., stadiums, markets, and malls), community support groups and mobilization (including traditional and religious leaders), text message reminders, and even financial incentives [ 34 – 36 ].…”