MAS Chairperson Ram Devi.

In the bustling neighborhood of Ibrahim Baig in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, a small but determined group of women set out to tackle a big problem: children missing out on life-saving vaccinations.

Led by the Mahila Arogya Samiti (MAS) Chairperson Ram Devi and Secretary Neelam Devi – who also serves as an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) – the group worked under the Moti Nagar Urban Primary Health Center (UPHC) to shift mindsets, engage families, and ensure no child was left behind.

But their task wasn’t easy. Ram Devi reflected on barriers they encountered:

 I have been associated with MAS since 2019, but it wasn’t until 2024 that we began actively discussing maternal, newborn and child health services in our community. We faced deep-rooted misconceptions. Many people believed that vaccines would harm their children or cause fever and pregnant women were discouraged from getting them. Whenever we tried talking about immunization, community members would turn away, speak harshly, or simply refuse to engage. It was discouraging, but we didn’t give up.”

Neelam Devi is a MAS Secretary and ASHA.

With support from The Challenge Initiative (TCI) in India, Ram Devi, Neelam and their MAS group took on the challenge with new determination. Neelam explains what happened next:

We took up this challenge that no child in our community remains unvaccinated. We accessed updated registers and identified children who had missed vaccinations.”

Armed with data and determination, they launched door-to-door outreach efforts. But change didn’t come easily. They sometimes revisited the same households several times. Ram Devi recalled two particularly challenging cases – Sarojini and Sangeeta, mothers of infants who had not been vaccinated:

 Sarojini’s eight-month-old child and Sangeeta’s seven-month-old had never received a single vaccine. Their hesitation was rooted in fear, largely influenced by their in-laws and husbands, who believed the children would fall ill after being vaccinated. No amount of general counseling seemed to change their minds.”

Faced with these barriers, the MAS team patiently deepened their engagement, as explained by Ram Devi:

I along with a few MAS members, began visiting Sarojini and Sangeeta’s homes regularly. We didn’t just speak to the mothers, in fact, we involved the entire family. We heard their concerns, explained the science behind vaccines and shared how immunization protects children from life-threatening diseases.”

They took a creative, community-led approach: introducing families to peers who had once hesitated but later chose to vaccinate; sharing government IEC materials; and screening short, easy-to-understand videos that addressed common concerns.

Ultimately, one day they agreed to vaccinate their children. It was a proud and emotional moment for all of us. Not only were two more children protected, but it also reaffirmed the power of community engagement in breaking down fear and misinformation. Our MAS is now more committed than ever, with one shared goal: ‘Not even a single child should be left behind from the circle of immunization.'”

Thanks to the persistent and empathetic efforts of Ram Devi, Neelam, and the entire MAS team, more families in Ibrahim Baig are gaining the confidence to protect their children through immunization – one household at a time.