The role of mobile phone-based interventions to improve routine childhood immunisation coverage

Routine childhood immunisation is one of the most

successful and cost-effective public health interventions

that have considerably reduced global child morbidity

and mortality.1 However, annually, an estimated

18·7 million children under 1 year of age do not receive

basic vaccination as part of an expanded programme of

immunisation (EPI) worldwide, and millions of children

die from vaccine-preventable diseases.2 Because of social

issues and insufficient appreciation for immunisation,

parents and caregivers forget or ignore the importance

of immunisation or completing the entire series of

vaccines. As a consequence, there is a continuation

of the polio epidemic, large measles outbreaks, and

high disease burden of vaccine-preventable diseases

in children.3 In The Lancet Global Health, Dustin Gibson

and colleagues study4 showed the effectiveness of

SMS reminders coupled with incentives in improving

immunisation uptake and timelines in Kenya.4