Ephrance Nuwamanya of Bushenyi Integrated Rural Development (BIRD) in Uganda will improve routine immunization coverage in Uganda by developing a digital system for health centers to record births and vaccinations, send automated reminders and education messages to families via SMS, and monitor vaccine orders and supplies. Vaccinations can prevent many potentially deadly diseases. However, few children are properly vaccinated across many sub-Saharan African countries, and there is no effective way to monitor vaccinations and educate families. To address this, whey will optimize their digital system for data collection and management of newborns and vaccinations, and integrate it with existing databases and hospital management systems. They will pilot test their approach in three district health centers in rural Uganda by teaching the health workers and local communities about their vaccination and information management system (VIMS), and evaluating its impact on the timeliness and coverage of vaccinations.

Olorunsogo Adeoye of the African Field Epidemiology Network in Nigeria will set up an immunization tracking system based on SMS in Nigeria to register children's immunizations, send out reminders of vaccination schedules, and educate families on the importance of routine childhood immunizations. Late or missing vaccinations are a major cause of morbidity and mortality particularly in developing countries. Poor vaccination coverage is due in part to a lack of information given to families on the importance and time-sensitivity of vaccinations and on the recommended schedules. They will develop an SMS-based tracking tool to work with an existing health management system so that health facilities can record each child's data, and SMS reminders can be regularly sent to families and health facilities to inform them when vaccinations are due. Automated voice jingles and messages will also be designed to provide families with useful information. Their system will be tested using 20 health facilities in Sokoto State in Nigeria where 2014-15 records show that none of the children in 40 districts received the complete set of vaccinations.

Diana Negoescu of the University of Minnesota in the U.S. will ensure routine vaccinations are given to infants during the first year of life in resource-limited settings by providing free, shared transportation to medical centers, and text message reminders. In low-resource countries, public transportation, if available, is often unreliable and infrequent. However, newborns require regular, on-time vaccinations to prevent a variety of potentially deadly diseases. Network transportation providers such as Uber for cars and Safeboda for motorbikes have recently been implemented in Kampala, Uganda, and provide a potential solution. To determine the feasibility and value of free transportation and timely reminders, they will conduct a survey in Kampala to collect information on the associated costs, practical issues, and potential impact on vaccination coverage and infant health.

Marc Mitchell of D-tree International in the U.S. will develop an application that enables community health workers in Zanzibar to register children for immunizations before they are born, to ensure all children are vaccinated on time. Children are currently registered when they are already around four weeks old and only at health facilities, which excludes a lot of children born at home. They will build on their existing program in Zanzibar to develop the mobile phone technology used by Community Health Volunteers, who engage with pregnant women in their homes, for registering infants in the third trimester, generating immunization plans, and providing a support tool to educate mothers on the importance of timely vaccinations. They will test their application in the field by recruiting 100 health volunteers and evaluating immunization levels and timing in around 500 infants.