Report
When the 'Unrecognized' Became Essential: How Informal Health Practitioners Helped Vaccinate 58 Zero-Dose Children in Karachi
In some of Karachi’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, the people who ultimately helped children receive their first vaccines were not government vaccinators or public health officials. They were informal private health practitioners, providers who operate small clinics in narrow streets. Critically, the families concerned regarded these health practitioners as their “doctors” of choice.
Our health ecosystem sees these practitioners as outside the formal system. However, our research showed that in resolving protracted issues such as vaccine resistance, their ties of trust to the community could be used innovatively to crack the problem of convincing parents to vaccinate previously unvaccinated children.
Suggested citation: Amir M, Impetus Advisory Group. When the “Unrecognized” Became Essential: How Informal Health Practitioners Helped Vaccinate 58 Zero-Dose Children in Karachi. 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-unrecognized-became-essential-how-informal-health-bomyf/?trackingId=58ztgaAPdTj%2Bq6qDPKTTsw%3D%3D
Authors
Languages
- English
Publication year
2026
Type
Categories
Countries
Tags
WHO Regions
ZDLA-Pakistan
This resource appears in the following Hot Topic page:
The resource is included in the following table:
| Title | Author | Year | Type | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zero Dose Learning Agenda: Overall Findings Report | Pakistan | Impetus Advisory Group | 2026 | Report | English |
| Zero Dose Learning Agenda: ZDLA Narrative | Impetus Advisory Group | 2024 | Report | English |
| Zero Dose Learning Agenda: Processes for Designing Interventions that Address Priority Root Causes | Impetus Advisory Group | 2025 | Report | English |
| Zero Dose Learning Agenda - Pakistan: Root Causes and Drivers Learnings | Impetus Advisory Group | 2025 | Presentation | English |
| When the 'Unrecognized' Became Essential: How Informal Health Practitioners Helped Vaccinate 58 Zero-Dose Children in Karachi | Meerub Amir, Impetus Advisory Group | 2026 | Report | English |
