Dear colleagues,

The political and economic situations in many developing countries are currently promoting communal crises that make refuge and asylum seeking a daily phenomenon. It is now internationally recognized that the welfare of refugees is going to significantly impact global development indicators, be it from the social, economic or health point of view. Although economic vulnerability of refugees often exposes them to many health problems, utilization of vaccination to combat some vaccine-preventable diseases, especially for under-5 children, suffers some setbacks due to several institutional barriers. Vaccine hesitancy, which is being recognized as a major public health pandemic, constitutes a notable barrier to the administration and efficiency of notable healthcare interventions that have been designed to address some highly infectious diseases like COVID-19, measles, chickenpox, diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, polio, and mumps.

This special issue has been inspired to compile some recent evidence on hesitancy towards vaccines among refugees in developing and developed countries. The intention is to assemble some qualitative and quantitative studies that address the underlying socio-economic, political, institutional, and environmental drivers of vaccine acceptability in a manner that informs holistic policy interventions for achieving the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Submissions are welcome from researchers from different disciplines including economics, sociology, psychology, political science and international relations.

Prof. Abayomi-Samuel Oyekale

Dr. Monica-Ewomazino Akokuwebe

Guest Editors.

Vaccine Hesitancy; Under-5 Vaccination; Vaccine-Preventable Diseases; Policy and Institutional Interventions; Economics of Vaccinations; Social and Political Barriers