1. Prepare your Week 3 community assignment.

The purpose of the Week 3 assignment is to select and present a list of innovative activities for your current context.

State which location (country and context) and intervention (guideline) you have selected for your action plan.

I am from the Gambia and I have selected Immunization in the second year of life (2YL) for my action plan. This is because, I belief this intervention wil become more and more important as we introduce new vaccines and booster doses for traditional vaccines. This intervention will also contribute in improving overall coverage for those children who are undervaccinated or uncinated between 0-11 months. Immunization in the second year of life can help improve overall protection against vaccine preventable diseases.

List 3-5 innovative activities from your selected intervention.

.-Planning for vaccination in the second of year of life and beyond.

-community engagement, communication and providing demand for immunization in the second year of life.

-Build health worker capacity to improve competencies in service delivery, data management and data use for decision making as well as supportive supervision.

For each activity, justify how this activity can help reduce inequity and/or improve coverage

-Planning for vaccination in the second of year of life and beyond.

The introduction of a scheduled 2YL visit for vaccination requires detailed planning to implement it within the existing organization and delivery of fixed, outreach, and mobile services. Planning is an important component that is needed to address both technical and managerial issues. Proper planning helps in effective implementation and strengthens vaccination in the second year of life. The identification of a focal point or working group for vaccination in the second year of life will give guidance and direction for effective implementation of 2YL programs. An adequate budgeted plan that secures funding provides a platform for the proper development and implementation of 2YL programs. In planning for effective vaccination in the second year of life, it is important that policies, guidelines, standards and data management tools are reviewed and updated. The supply chain should be assessed interms of logistics, SOPs for vaccination in the second year of life and vaccine forecasting tools. Having an established platform for vaccination in the second year of life will increase the potential uptake of these vaccines when they are introduced as well as provide catch up doses for unvaccinated or under vaccinated children.

-community engagement, communication and providing demand for immunization in the second year of life.

Communication and community engagement are important factors that create demand and strengthen vaccination in the second year of life. The success of immunization programs requires strategies that build and maintain confidence in the immunization service delivery. Social and behavioral change communication is one of the key approaches that builds knowledge and awareness while putting into consideration the individual, social, and structural/political dynamics that shape vaccination behaviours. Positive vaccination behaviors are the driving forces to high coverages in many parts of the world including the Gambia. Community engagement will help increase community participation and ownership of the vaccination program. The communitie’s participates in the planning, implementation and evaluation of vaccination programs will increase reduce their fears and barriers to vaccination and improve immunization coverage.

-Build health worker capacity to improve competencies in service delivery, data management and data use for decision making as well as supportive supervision.

The skills, knowledge and attitude of frontline health workers and managers are key factors that shape the success of health interventions. Training is important in introducing new skills and improve effective implementation of 2YL programs. Improve competencies will help health workers to properly and adequately prepare microplans and forecast vaccines, screen children for vaccination, communicate clearly with care givers, identify and trace defaulters and use vaccination date for decision making. This will reduce missed opportunities, improve timely vaccination, improve public confidence in the vaccination and thereby improving coverage.