About Cranky

We understand the lifesaving power of vaccines. But around the world, misinformation is increasingly undermining the success of national immunisation programs, fueling widespread vaccine hesitancy, and limiting the uptake of vaccinations.

Our mission is to build public resilience against health misinformation, by equipping people with the knowledge and skills to identify and reject mis- and disinformation about vaccines. The Cranky Uncle Vaccine game achieves this by combining cartoons, critical thinking, and gamification.

Cartoon of a health care worker saying, "Let's build resilience against misinformation", standing next to Cranky Uncle who has a grumpy expression and folded arms.

Partners

Unicef logo
Sabin Vaccine Institute logo
Skeptical Science logo
Irimi logo
Goodbeast logo
The University of Melbourne logo
Wendy Cook Design logo

Partner with us

Cranky Uncle Vaccine is supported by a global consortium of public and private sector organisations working to effectively respond to health misinformation at scale. We work closely with national partners from academia, government and civil society to:

  • Adapt and deploy Cranky Uncle Vaccine across new languages, regions and platforms.
  • Continually assess and improve our effectiveness and impact.
  • Provide and procure grants to expand our reach and impact.
  • Share our learnings with others working in the fields of immunisation and misinformation management.

Our model for deploying Cranky Uncle Vaccine is community-led, and relies on the strong national partnerships and programs that surround it. Before entering a new market, we look to identify and engage different kinds of partners to co-lead customisation, deployment and promotion efforts.

If you are interested in joining us as a national Franchise, Research or Promotion partner, please get in touch via the form below.

Interested in partnering? Contact us:

Audiences

Cranky Uncle Vaccine’s cartoons, humour, and easy-to-understand language and concepts are well suited to multiple audiences:

Cartoon of a young man with headphones looking happy

Youth
(16-30 years)

Cranky Uncle Vaccine’s gamified format and features are a natural fit for young people. By increasing know-how to effectively navigate misinformation and offering tips on the importance of vaccination, Cranky Uncle Vaccine empowers young people to act as more effective change-agents in their families and communities. This correlates with a body of evidence highlighting the importance of intergenerational knowledge sharing.

Cartoon of a health care worker looking happy

Healthcare
Workers

Cranky Uncle Vaccine acts as a complementary, innovative resource for those working on the frontlines of health promotion. By boosting awareness about how misinformation develops and spreads, and sharing accessible information on the safety and efficacy of vaccines, Cranky Uncle Vaccine works to support those often best-positioned to address community health concerns, fears and stigma.

Cartoon of an older woman looking happy

Parents and
Caregivers

Cranky Uncle Vaccine provides parents and child-caregivers with knowledge and skills to better navigate health information, enabling them to make better health decisions for their loved ones. Our mobile-based delivery format makes Cranky Uncle Vaccine a fun and accessible vaccination resource that can be consulted over and over again.

Co-Design

By investing in up-front co-design prior to new market deployment, we keep content relevant and relatable for our user communities. Local partners may lead local co-design processes using the standardised materials provided by the global Cranky Uncle Vaccine team.

In 2022, the Cranky Uncle Vaccine team co-designed the game’s characters and script with communities of young people, parents and caregivers, and medical workers in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda to prepare for launch of the East African game version. A co-designed version of the Cranky Uncle Vaccine game will be available in Ghana, Tanzania and Pakistan in 2023.

Uganda Co-Design Workshop participant tests the Cranky Uncle Vaccine game
Kenya Co-Design Workshop participants discuss character design
Participants test and comment on the Cranky Uncle Vaccine game and characters at co-design workshops in Kenya and Uganda.