- The overall response from all study participants at the various levels was highly positive; any challenges raised during the study related to ‘how’ and not ‘whether’ this approach should be implemented
- Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) play an important role in contributing to a variety of key public health programs, including family planning, maternal care, child health, vitamin A supplementation/ de-worming, and immunization coverage. They are the foundation of Nepal’s community-based primary health care system and are the key referral link between the health services and communities.
- Most participants, especially in rural settings, stated ‘being told by the FCHV’ as the main reason for attending the vaccination booth on the day.
- According to policy makers and programme implementers, the integration of hygiene into immunisation programmes had not been considered in the past, except for one attempt in Rautahat district in 2010.
- However, vaccination campaigns are infrequent and hygiene behaviors are complex, deeply rooted, and require frequent messaging sustained over a long period of time to change. There is also concern as to whether or not FCHVs can handle administering vaccinations and deliver promotional activities, especially in crowded urban settings.