Immunization Accelerator
Program Across East Africa

PROJECT

Immunization Accelerator Program

CLIENT

OpenIDEO

ROLE

Human Centered Design | Workshop Facilitation | Visual Storytelling | Mentorship

PROBLEM

Low immunization uptake continues to be a challenge in many remote communities, driven
by a combination of knowledge gaps, cultural practices, communication barriers, and limited access to healthcare services.

BRIEF

The project centered around leveraging human-centered design to empower grassroots organizations across Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, and Uganda to develop innovative immunization solutions. Through sustained piloting, testing, and mentorship, we guided these organizations toward user-ready interventions capable of influencing broader health ecosystems and creating lasting community impact.

RESEARCH

Initial field research across 4 remote communities in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya & Somalia revealed the intricate relationships between culture, customs, and health service delivery.

Through extensive fieldwork and stakeholder engagement, I worked closely with a Maasai community in Moita Kiloriti, Northern Tanzania, gathering insights from caregivers, healthcare providers, traditional birth attendants, and community leaders. Working directly with local organizations provided deep contextual knowledge essential for designing interventions that would resonate within existing community structures rather than disrupting them.

INSIGHTS

Through conversations with community members and stakeholders, we uncovered the complex network of relationships, experiences, and challenges shaping immunization access. Mapping the wider health ecosystem revealed key opportunities for targeted support and intervention.

SYNTHESIS

Personal stories revealed the social, cultural, and systemic factors influencing immunization practices, highlighting barriers often missed by traditional research methods. These insights helped identify the root causes of missed vaccinations and low engagement with immunization services.

KEY BARRIERS

Our research revealed several interconnected barriers to immunization uptake, including communication gaps between healthcare providers and families, resource constraints that limit the time and educational tools available to health workers, family decision-making dynamics that can restrict mothers' access to care, and the prevalence of home births attended by traditional birth attendants, which can delay access to early vaccinations.

CHALLENGE

How might we empower community caregivers to better support mothers throughout the immunization journey?

IDEATION & PROTOTYPING

Together with the community, we workshopped, co-created & iteratively prototyped, resulting in interventions that were both evidence-based and community-owned, contributing to improved immunization service delivery.

RESULT

01 The Baby Carrier

We developed a baby carrier and companion bag as incentive-based tools to support clinic attendance while enhancing caregivers’ sense of pride and visibility within the community.

Early concepts for a canvas bag quickly evolved into a more practical baby carrier, designed for transporting infants and featuring a dedicated pocket for the immunization card. The final carrier drew inspiration from the way Maasai shukas are traditionally tied, creating a familiar and culturally resonant form. A matching utility bag provided space for diapers and other essentials. To support scalability, rapid production, and resource-efficient manufacturing, the pattern and construction were intentionally kept simple.