Table 3.

Case studies for increasing vaccine acceptance in humanitarian settings

Case Study 1: A qualitative study44 with residents of Cox’s Bazaar refugee camp in Bangladesh found that a lack of sensitivity to cultural gender norms in the vaccination procedures (specifically, a lack of female HCWs to vaccinate women and girls), as well as fears that vaccines were being used by ‘white humanitarian workers’ to convert the local population to Christianity, were major barriers in a measles and diphtheria vaccination campaign. Engagement with local, particularly religious, leaders and faith-based messaging were suggested and subsequently used by the researchers. Case study 2: In Kenya, vaccine hesitancy within the government and national population, as well as misinformation about COVID-19 spread through social media and word of mouth in refugee camps, including rumours that international aid agencies are creating the virus to make money, have had a strong effect on populations living in refugee camps.58 In Dadaab camp, a radio host from the camp, known locally as the ‘Corona Guy’, has used his radio station with success to directly combat misinformation circulating in the camp and to create a dialogue with other camp residents. Case study 3: In Turkey, the government and partners conducted a mass vaccination campaign to provide missing doses of MMR and polio to 400 000 refugee and migrant children. Vaccines were delivered door-to-door in homes, communities and health centres by trained Syrian refugee doctors and nurses to bridge the language gaps and help build trust. Additional communication channels were used concurrently, including live radio broadcasts, mosques and local health centres.86