In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the crucial role of community engagement in the successful delivery of public health interventions in humanitarian settings, including for vaccine delivery. However, that evidence is fragmentary and has rarely been used as the systematic basis for planning public health interventions. The goal of Pulse is to establish an evidence base and practice network to support community-led vaccine deployment strategies in humanitarian contexts. The project will encompass three phases:
- Convening researchers and practitioners to define current best practice;
- Developing an evaluation framework through partnerships with National Red Cross Societies in both Ethiopia and Nigeria to assess how co-creation and community engagement affects vaccination uptake, the management of vaccination programmes and uptake and operationalisation of community insights by implementing organisations; and
- Producing guidance and establishing a durable community of practice for innovation in humanitarian vaccination.
Pulse brings together a consortium of researchers, led by the Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies in collaboration with London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Addis Ababa University School of Public Health (Ethiopia), and Childcare and Wellness Clinics (Nigeria). The project is implemented in collaboration with International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the National Societies of Ethiopia and Nigeria.
The programme currently receives funding from the United Kingdom Humanitarian Innovation Hub (UKHIH).
Since its inception in 2020, UKHIH has adopted an approach of brokering and facilitating high-impact collaborations that contribute to major advances in humanitarian innovation through a shared strategic learning process.
The Accelerated Innovation Collaborations (AICs), such as Pulse, are constructed around collaboration, evidence gathering, assessing concepts, and have adoption / scale partners built into each coloration.
A central component of the AICs has been the inclusion of lower-middle income country (LMICs) researchers through the UKHIH fellowship scheme.
UKHIH’s new online photography exhibition, Humanly possible: Community engagement on the frontline of vaccine delivery was displayed at the Geneva Health Forum 2024 conference (27 -29 May).
It highlights the collective action needed to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease.
The striking collection of portraits and stories from Nigeria have been captured by photographer Etinosa Yvonne, showcasing community engagement volunteers in Kano, who tell their personal story of their engagement with the PULSE vaccine programme.
Read the article from the United Kingdom Humanitarian Innovation Hub and view the beautiful online exhibition with photographer Etinosa Yvonne.
