AViD

Overview

Project AViD (Anthropological Exploration of Facilitators and Barriers to Vaccine Deployment and Administration During Disease Outbreaks), headed by Shelley Lees, worked across DRC, Sierra Leone, Brazil, India and Uganda, adopting both a top-down and bottom-up approach to exploring vaccine acceptance. This project took a critical anthropological approach to exploring what actions can be taken to optimise vaccine acceptance during a disease outbreak. Whilst some countries already face logistical challenges to vaccine deployment and administration, these system weaknesses are exacerbated during times of disease outbreaks.

In addition to access challenges, some populations have underlying distrust in national and international bodies that provide vaccines, which can also amplify in times of emergencies, as seen in the recent Ebola and Zika outbreaks. Rumours and misinformation are also commonly spread in times of outbreaks, especially when the diseases are unfamiliar, or there is an absence of information available.