The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has launched a study in Uganda to investigate the social and behavioral factors influencing vaccine uptake.
According to Ken Limwame, the Social and Behavioral Change (SBC) Lead at Africa CDC, the study comes amid growing concerns about vaccine hesitancy and doubts, especially as more vaccines are added to the national immunization schedule.
Limwame says the study is expected to generate scientific insights into these challenges:
Uganda is one of ten African countries participating in the assessment. While the country has registered commendable success in routine immunization—with some antigen coverage surpassing 80 percent—Limwame notes that challenges remain. These include skepticism about vaccine efficacy, fears of side effects, and questions about the appropriate age to stop getting immunized.
The study is engaging key influencers such as religious and traditional leaders, academia, women, and the media, in order to gather a wide range of perspectives from the community.
It comes at a time of heightened global scrutiny on immunization efforts, following the recent announcement by the United States to withdraw funding from GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, which provides free vaccines to low-income countries. This move has raised concerns about vaccine safety and sustainability.
Dr. Tabley Bakyayita Basajja’tebadiba, an expert from the Ministry of Health’s Health Promotion Department, welcomed the initiative, describing it as an important social listening tool.
He said the findings will help healthcare managers assess whether communities still trust vaccines and identify barriers to completion of vaccination schedule.
He noted that while the previous vaccination schedule stopped at nine months, additional vaccines have since been introduced for children beyond infancy.
However, several children are not completing their vaccine schedules. The study, he said, will help establish whether this is due to issues of access, misinformation, or other barriers.