On 16 May 2023 in Mahajanga, western Madagascar, 59-year-old Addiah brought her five-day-old first granddaughter, Leyannah, to the launch of a polio vaccination campaign. Afterwards she approached the vaccination team at the CSI Mahabibo health centre and joined the physical queue for routine infant immunisation. They were waiting for the BCG vaccine that protects against tuberculosis.
The baby’s mother needed to rest after giving birth, so the grandmother carried Leyannah to the clinic. For Addiah, the queue linked generations. She had ensured that her own children received their vaccinations and now intended to do the same for her grandchildren. Waiting with a newborn made a national immunisation effort tangible as a family decision, carried out one child and one turn at a time.