The Spell of the Immunity Charm
Vaccines save the lives of millions of children each year. And yet in some places, even where they are available, their importance go underrecognized by mothers and caregivers. Enter the Immunity Charm. By taking a simple bracelet commonly given to children from their parents as a symbol of protection, and adding color coded beads representing immunizations, we can support mothers, their communities and healthworkers in normalizing immunization. “It is considered as a tradition and people accept it easily.” - Afghan Imman
Turning the evil eye on disease
The “nazar” or evil eye is an ancient, deep-rooted traditional symbol of protection, with resonance across socioeconomic classes and educational levels. Across South Asia, children commonly wear bracelets with a nazer charm given to them by their parents.
The Immunity Charm™
A simple bracelet comprised of a black thread and screw closure, it comes preloaded with a nazar charm and a series of black beads. At each immunization, colored beads representing each of the EPI vaccine antigens are added to it.
3 Powerful Drivers
Mothers Mothers see the charm as a symbol of protection against disease and as being a good mother among her peers CommunityThe Immunity Charm™ is a visible symbol to influential family and community members to encourage mothers to have their children vaccinated Healthcare workers Healthcare workers have an additional and readily visible indication of a child’s immunization status seeing the specific type and number of colored bead that reflect the immunization status of children (if the official immunization record is not available).