Community-Based Health Programs and Child Vaccinations: Evidence from Madagascar / Catalina Herrera-Almanza, Maria Rosales-Rueda.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Herrera-Almanza, Catalina.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Rosales-Rueda, Maria.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w31340.

NBER working paper series no. w31340

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2023.

Summary:

Vaccinations are a cost-effective tool to prevent child mortality and morbidity; however, their access and take-up remain low in developing countries. We analyze the effects on child vaccinations of a large-scale community-based health worker program that aimed to reach remote areas distant from public health facilities in Madagascar. We identify these effects using a triple-difference design that leverages the time and geographic variation in the program rollout and the geocoded household distance to the closest health facility. Our findings indicate that, on average, the program did not improve the vaccination uptake in treated areas; however, the community health workers component had an additional effect on children's vaccinations in the most remote areas from the closest health facility. Despite this improvement, we find that mothers' religious affiliation might constitute a barrier for the vaccination uptake of the most remote and vulnerable children.

Notes:

Print version record

June 2023.