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The Communication Initiative
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
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Vaccination Reminder Band for Pakistani Infants

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"The idea is for every midwife to give an activated VIR [vaccine indicator reminder] band to every infant they attend to in the community, and the VIR band will indicate to the parents the 'Number of Weeks Unprotected' for their child."

With the hope of improving Pakistan's reportedly low childhood immunisation rates, the Trust for Vaccines & Immunization (TVI) plans to offer a "vaccine indicator reminder (VIR) band" strapped around a child’s ankle. Through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations Award, TVI is collaborating with United Kingdom Timestrip to develop this device as a reminder to parents for timely completion of their children’s vaccines.

Dr. Noor Sabah Rakhshani, creator of the plastic waterproof band, describes it as "a low-cost device based on ink moving on a membrane by capillary action, activated by simple finger pressure.” 

Communication Strategies

The VIR band, according to Rakhshani, is a band designed to provide a visual method of showing when each of the three rounds of vaccines are needed over the first 14 weeks of a child’s life, alerting the parent with a clear visual marker at 6, 10, and 14 week intervals.

 

Unlike a vaccination reminder card - through which parents are generally able to achieve above 80% vaccination completion - the band cannot as easily be lost or damaged because the soft band is attached to the baby’s ankle. "Each VIR band is marked with a unique number to match the child’s medical records at the point of issue. As the highly visible red indicator liquid (a food grade dye) sealed inside the Timestrip® migrates along the clear window, the three vaccination periods are graphically marked. The device has no electronics or moving mechanical parts."

Development Issues

Children, Immunisation and Vaccination

Key Points

By February 2014, Dr. Rakshani’s team had enrolled 344 children to evaluate the efficacy of the VIR band, which costs US$2 apiece.

Partners

Timestrip UK Ltd,  Trust for Vaccines & Immunization (TVI)

Sources

Timestrip website, and Sciedev.net South Asia website, June 9 2105.