‘Not Even a Single Child Should Be Left Behind’: How One Women’s Group in Uttar Pradesh Fought Vaccine Hesitancy

We took up this challenge that no child in our community remains unvaccinated. We accessed updated registers and identified children who had missed vaccinations.”

Armed with data and determination, Neealm and Ram Devi launched door-to-door outreach efforts. But change didn’t come easily. They sometimes revisited the same households several times. Ram Devi recalled two particularly challenging cases – Sarojini and Sangeeta, mothers of infants who had not been vaccinated: “Sarojini’s eight-month-old child and Sangeeta’s seven-month-old had never received a single vaccine. Their hesitation was rooted in fear, largely influenced by their in-laws and husbands, who believed the children would fall ill after being vaccinated. No amount of general counseling seemed to change their minds.”

Faced with these barriers, the MAS team patiently deepened their engagement, as explained by Ram Devi: “I along with a few MAS members, began visiting Sarojini and Sangeeta’s homes regularly. We didn’t just speak to the mothers, in fact, we involved the entire family. We heard their concerns, explained the science behind vaccines and shared how immunization protects children from life-threatening diseases.”

They took a creative, community-led approach: introducing families to peers who had once hesitated but later chose to vaccinate; sharing government IEC materials; and screening short, easy-to-understand videos that addressed common concerns.

Ram Devi adds- “Ultimately, one day they agreed to vaccinate their children. It was a proud and emotional moment for all of us. Not only were two more children protected, but it also reaffirmed the power of community engagement in breaking down fear and misinformation. Our MAS is now more committed than ever, with one shared goal: ‘Not even a single child should be left behind from the circle of immunization.'”

Thanks to the persistent and empathetic efforts of Ram Devi, Neelam, and the entire MAS team, more families in Ibrahim Baig are gaining the confidence to protect their children through immunization – one household at a time.

With support from PSI India’s The Challenge Initiative (TCI) India, Ram Devi, Neelam and their MAS group took on the challenge with new determination.