Who do you trust? A gendered approach to understanding drivers of vaccine confidence and parental intentions to vaccinate children in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire

Like many topics in public health, COVID-19 has catalysed the global conversation on two important issues: (1) that epidemics and pandemics are not gender neutral and (2) societal trust in science is critical for a successful response. This mixed-methods study will explore the relationships between gender, vaccine confidence and parental intentions to vaccinate children in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. While these two countries in West Africa had historically comparable levels of vaccine confidence and coverage, their trajectories have diverged in recent years. Through comparison of relevant timelines, policies, stakeholders, and programs, this comparative research to identify promising practices for building, maintaining, and recovering vaccine confidence, and document successful efforts that were deployed to address issues of mis-/dis-information. There is a growing body of evidence on the causes of decreased vaccine confidence, but there is a dearth of data on what works. Too often understudied due to language constraints, this research also aims to address the gap in evidence emerging from Francophone West Africa and generate transferable lessons for boosting trust in science and vaccine uptake.