Stories

Case studies from countries who have applied human-centred design

Interview with a caregiver in Nampula, Mozambique, 2021
Ethiopia Case Study

Making preventative services a normal community practice

In Ethiopia, reaching zero dose and underimmunized families across vast geographies, languages and cultures requires tailored diagnoses and adapted interventions.
Two women during an interview about immunization practices in Oromia Ethiopia, 2021
Three health workers during an interview about immunization in Sentul, Indonesia, 2019
Indonesia Case Study

Empowering provinces to resolve local challenges

Indonesia’s decentralized system of government puts the responsibility of delivering immunization services in 300 local languages over a vast geography with provincial governments.
Madagascar Case Study

Tackling paradoxical coverage rates in urban slums

In Antananarivo slums, vaccination coverage rates are extremely low even though services are more accessible and available than anywhere else in Madagascar.
Team interviewing a community leader in the slums of Antananarivo, Madagascar 2020
Field research in Gao, Mali
Mali Case Study

Sharing the burden of remembering and prioritizing

In Mali, caregiver illiteracy is common and gender roles and norms are strong. Women have many people to care for in the home and this makes it difficult for them to understand health education materials stay up to date with upcoming appointments. 
Mozambique Case Study

Tailoring local action plans to reduce inequities

Failure to vaccinate in Mozambique is due to ‘occasional and incidental reasons’ that cannot be captured easily through quantitative data or addressed through national-level solutions.
Interview of a caregiver in Maputo, Mozambique, 2021
Field Research in Nepal
Nepal Case Study

Improving the safety of female community health volunteers

In Nepal, female community health volunteers whose job is to remind families to attend vaccination appointments felt unsafe traveling alone from house-to-house. Hard-to-reach ethnic minorities such as the Chepang communities did not get access to basic health services.
Nigeria Case Study

Bringing health education closer to home

In Nigeria's nomadic communities, there are difficulties related to how — and where — health care and education is delivered. Families, and more specifically fathers, who live far from health facilities, do not get access to the necessary materials and information related to health and immunization.

Nigeria Field Research
A father identifying obstacles during an interview in Garowe, Puntland 2021
Somalia Case Study

Engaging the community to help caregivers overcome gender barriers

In Somalia, men play an influential role in decision-making. While Somali women have a strong role in raising children, managing the household, and earning income the male head of the household has decisional powers over use of time and resources to visit health clinics.
South Sudan Case Study

Creating a welcoming clinic environment

In the densely populated areas of South Sudan, communities experience many challenges in terms of access to and quality of care: families tend to have negative experiences at health facilities — how they feel and how they are treated. And that is every bit as important in their care-seeking behavior. 
Field Research in KonyoKonyo Market in South Sudan
Sudan team practicing research methods
Sudan Case Study

Establishing vaccines as a new cultural norm

Given the influential role that gender plays in cultural norms in Sudan, this case study focuses on how one community’s engagement with fathers led them to a creative opportunity to create a new tradition.
Zimbabwe Case Study

Increasing uptake of primary health services in Zimbabwe's hard-to-reach communities

In Zimbabwe, while routine immunization rates are high across the country, the Apostolic community in Manicaland has been hesitant to seek immunization services due to a multitude of reasons. 

Health worker answer questions about immunization practices in the community during an interview in Manicaland, Zimbabwe, 2019
Photograph of the HCD toolkit, containing the complete field guide, the poster, the workbook, post-its and markers