When mother Nelia, who had to balance her work on the farm with facility visits, made it to the health facility after missing several routine visits for her son, she had an uncomfortable encounter with a health worker:

“I was yelled at by the clinician for not taking the child for vaccination regularly, and this caused me not to return the following month.” – Nelia

Nelia’s interaction with the health worker was compounded by her concerns about the potential side-effects from her child receiving multiple missed vaccines at once. She said that health workers never adequately informed her about what side-effects to expect. Today her son remains only partially vaccinated and susceptible to otherwise preventable diseases.

These strained relationships between caregivers and health workers have a resounding impact on missed vaccination opportunities and can contribute to reduced trust in the health care system.