How is CRY UK addressing vaccine hesitancy in rural India?

In underserved regions, families often navigate multiple barriers when it comes to healthcare. Misinformation around children’s vaccines, lack of clarity on immunisation schedules, and limited interaction with healthcare providers often lead to delay risking the lives of newborn and infants.

According to NFHS-5 (2019–21), 1 in 4 children miss critical immunisation windows, leaving them vulnerable to preventable diseases during early childhood. In today’s blog, let’s explore the challenges in overcoming vaccine hesitancy and what CRY UK is doing to address them.

Challenges in overcoming vaccine hesitancy

Overcoming vaccine hesitancy of newborns and infants requires addressing multiple, interconnected barriers that influence how families perceive, access, and act on healthcare decisions.

• Lack of awareness: Misinformation, limited understanding of vaccine benefits, unclear immunisation schedules, and cultural beliefs together shape hesitation, often leading to fear, delayed decisions, or missed vaccinations.
• Lack of trust in healthcare systems: Past experiences, inconsistent engagement, or limited interaction with healthcare providers can reduce confidence, making families hesitant to rely on formal systems for vaccination.

• Access and logistical barriers: Distance to healthcare centres, irregular availability of services, and competing daily priorities make it difficult for families to complete vaccination schedules consistently.

What CRY UK is doing to overcome the barriers

Creating lasting change requires more than one-time interventions. It involves consistent engagement, local participation, and systems that support families at every stage of their healthcare journey.

Community awareness and engagement

Through door-to-door outreach and village-level campaigns, CRY UK addresses misinformation around infant and newborn vaccinations, simplifies jargons & vaccine-related information, and encourages open conversations, helping families better understand the importance of timely immunisation.

Strengthening community support systems

Formation of agencies like Mothers’ Groups create safe spaces for discussion on children’s health, allowing women to share experiences, ask questions, and collectively build confidence around maternal and child healthcare practices.

Improving last-mile access

By supporting Village Health and Nutrition Days (VHNDs), CRY UK ensures essential immunisation and healthcare services are available within communities, reducing dependency on distant health centres.

Supporting maternal and child health tracking

Project teams help pregnant and lactating mothers register with Anganwadi centres, track vaccination schedules of children under three years age, and follow up regularly to ensure both mother and child receive timely care.

Capacity building of frontline workers

Training frontline health workers to address local concerns and communicate clearly helps build trust within communities, making families more confident in accessing and continuing healthcare services.

Conclusion

While CRY UK continues to support mothers and caregivers in ensuring the healthiest start for their newborns, many still live with fear, mistrust, and misinformation, putting their children’s lives at risk and limiting their chances of accessing education and a healthy future. Your support today can help change that, ensuring a brighter, healthier tomorrow for children.