Abstract:

Vaccination is one of the high-impact public health interventions against the spread of disease. Over time, developed countries have been able to reduce the burden of disease through improving access to vaccination and achieving high vaccine coverage. In low-income countries, the situation is different as most countries still report low coverages of less than 90%, which is the global target recommended by the World Health Organization. The main reasons for this low coverage include poor access to vaccination, stock-outs, and poor documentation and targeting for vaccination services. To address these problems, we developed an electronic vaccine registry using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology that registered births, vaccines administered and sent short message reminders to mothers about their clinic dates. The study was conducted in Nyandarua County, Kenya, between June 2018 to March 2019. To participate in the study, mothers had to reside within the jurisdiction of the study site. Mothers who moved into the study site also had their children registered and previous vaccines updated. A total of 4,823 births and 20,515 vaccines administered were captured into the system. The system sent 12,554 short message reminders to mothers; 3 days before the due day and on the due day. Additionally, it generated a birth register, vaccination register, defaulter list, dropout rate report, vaccine coverage, and timeliness reports. The intervention improved vaccination coverage and timeliness of vaccination by up to 8.7%.

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