8.2.4  Mobile delivery

During a mobile immunization programme, it is important to plan other health intervention activities, such as malaria control and antenatal visits, at the same time.

A mobile immunization service is likely to be most appropriate for pastoral and hard-to-reach areas. The key difference with other ways of delivering immunization is that it requires a mobile team to travel from place to place, carrying all the immunization equipment and maintaining absolute cold chain conditions for several days. The organisation of a mobile team requires careful planning.

Decisions about where to conduct the immunizations should be discussed and agreed with local government officials, community leaders and other stakeholders. Once the area is identified, you should use all possible ways to get information on the eligible target population in the area, so you can estimate what resources you will need for the number of sessions planned during this trip. Make sure that news reaches every community well in advance of the dates when your mobile service will be coming, and advertise where local people should go to meet you and your team. The setting-up and delivery of each session is exactly as already described for an outreach session.

In the next study session we turn to communication about the immunization service in more detail. Good communication is essential to ensure its success, wherever immunization sessions occur.