Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition (HBCC) – Vaccine Data Co-Lab

The Vaccine Data CoLab is the result of COVIDaction extending the pathway of what’s possible; beyond supporting the scaling of new innovations and technology applications working with a range of partners. This next phase will be a collaboration that will build on the experience of Frontier Tech Hub COVIDaction work but work in partnership with the partners under the FCDOs Hygiene and Behaviour Change, HBCC2, programme. It will also focus longer term on providing technical expertise and innovation to support building resilience of systems and preparedness for future pandemics. The Vaccine Data Co-Lab is a component of the FCDO and Unilever’s Hygiene and Behaviour Change (HBCC 2) programme. The objective of the Vaccine Data CoLab is to extend reach by continuing the COVIDaction partnership with COVAX GIS/ WHO, but extending this to include partners such as the London School of Hygiene (LSHTM) under HBCC2 programme, exploring the key question of we can increase vaccine uptake amongst the most vulnerable – for COVID and other vaccinations – by using hyperlocal data driven? The Co-lab will provide broad responsive global support to the HBCC 2 on how to better use data for behaviour change (particularly vaccine hesitancy) as well engaging with two country programmes ( Nigeria and one other tbc) where FCDO work with governments, donors, and their implementing partners assess the current data ecosystem available to address vaccine demand, design targeted activities and grants to address key niche areas, and train and build hyperlocal data analysis capacity in country leveraging our partnership with the COVAX GIS working group. The Vaccine Data CoLab (VDC) is a pivot of the original Data Challenge established by COVIDaction in May 2020, to identify and support global social data goods that could help different LMIC actors (including other donors, governments, academics, NGOs, and the private sector) access and use data they needed to address COVID-19. As vaccines were approved and rolled out by COVAX and other partners, the Vaccine Data CoLab was set up to invest in data tools and approaches to inform the equitable distribution of vaccines within specific countries. The VDCL focused on bridging the gap between countries’ data needs, existing data systems, and potentially appropriate technologies, through funding local collaborations and global sharing of ‘what works’. One year later, the Vaccine Data CoLab has supported the use of data to inform vaccine distribution and address hesitancy and misinformation across Senegal, Vietnam, Nigeria. The VDCL has built a coalition with COVAX GIS Working Group, supporting their mission to build capacity in LMICs to use and apply GIS microplanning data tools & approaches for equitable vaccine uptake. This partnership will continue and expand into the next phase. Whilst the original focus of the VDCL was on data for vaccine prioritisation (supply), this next phase will focus on misinformation and vaccine hesitancy (demand), which are proving equally important as a bottleneck in the vaccine uptake. Vaccine hesitancy is specific to sub-groups within populations and is rarely population wide.