Why Some Kids in Africa Still Miss Their Shots

Across sub-Saharan Africa, many children between one and two years old don’t get the vaccines they need. This doesn’t happen by accident. Families, communities, and local systems all play a role in whether a child receives their shots on time. New research looked at over 23, 000 toddlers in 21 countries to find out what gets in the way. Education often makes a difference. Mothers who finished school or higher learning tend to have kids who are fully vaccinated. The same goes for families who use health insurance—when parents have coverage, their children are more likely to receive all their shots. But not all education helps. Fathers who only finished primary school and families who watch a lot of TV are linked to more missed vaccinations.How people get around matters too. Those who travel to clinics on bicycles are less likely to miss an appointment. But the type of clinic matters as well. Children born in private health centers often have more uncorrected missed opportunities, meaning some vaccines aren’t given even when the family visits a facility. Religion and media habits also play unexpected roles. Muslim families and households that listen to the radio regularly show different vaccination patterns. The real surprise comes from how much these gaps vary from one neighborhood to another. Even after adjusting for known factors, about one in five missed vaccination cases can be traced to differences between communities. In some areas, the problem is twice as common as in others.