communication strategies for polio eradication
Post on 03-Feb-2016
45 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Communication Strategies for Polio Eradication
Background and Progress to 2007Enormous gains have been made against difficult and constantly
evolving conditions since polio eradication activities began in 1994.
In 1999 there were 45 cases; this has been reduced to 10 cases as of September 2007. Circulation has been restricted since 2004 primarily to the South and
East with only three sub-clusters (1 P3 and 2 P1). Good overall AFP surveillance established, with some concerns
regarding accessibility. Overall good coverage in accessible areas. Gaps remain due to security.
A national PEI system through which government works with donors and partners such as UNICEF, WHO and a range of NGO’s has delivered good results in difficult circumstances over the past decade.
Urgent need to review communication strategies in this last push towards eradication
Communication and Social Mobilisation Activities
Strong political commitment exhibited Presidential Task Force, Polio Eradication National
Steering Committee, Polio Action Group Activation of IEC department for polio eradication SIA inauguration ceremonies at national and provincial
levels
Involvement of religious and community leadersBranding and national awareness campaignEnhancement of social mobilization activities in
high risk areas Development and use of social mobilization materials
Stronger focus on cross-border immunization activities
Gaps in communication strategy at national and provincial levels
Insufficient human resource capacity to implement polio SM/C strategies
Limited programme data related to communication and limited use of existing data
Lack of communication baseline data
Poor levels of monitoring and supervision especially (but not exclusively) in high risk areas
Gaps in inter-sectoral collaboration at sub-national level
Communication Challenges
Communication Challenges
Continued and increasing security restrictions impeding access to many areas in the South and East
Cross border population movement (internal and external)
Difficulties accessing households and reaching child caregivers directly
EPI
SIA data
(control room, PCA) over time
Surveillance data
Analyze to identify reasons & patterns of
missed children:•Inaccessibility (to area/household)
•Performance of teams
(fighting, IPC)
•Refusals (perceptions, mis-information, demand)
•Impact of previous interventions
Locally appropriate strategy identified
(DC, CHW/CHS, Elders, Mullah, Teachers, women’s groups)
Previous Communication Interventions:Training of CHW, Meeting with Mullahs, Community Leaders, Courtyard women
Implement and measure communication strategy (s)
Implement program activity
Collect Data
Communication StrategyDevelop a comprehensive communication strategy for
national and provincial levels using data to identify high impact activities (Oct 2007)
Ensure development of indicators and updated social mobilization microplans at district and sub-district levels to address local challenges (Nov 2007)Focus on high risk districts: Eastern and Southern region, areas
with recent WPV, high insecurity/inaccessible/refusal, low-coverage
National media programme: ongoing (TV, radio, billboards, posters)
Baseline data is urgently required: immediate need for KAPB (Nov 2007)
Utilize Pashtu news services for polio message delivery: BBC, Azadi (immediate)
Polio Communication: National Level Capacity
Polio Action Group: Improve inter-sectoral involvement and coordination at the national
level (Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Education, Religious Affairs, Rural Rehab and Dev, Def)
Translate this commitment into action at the provincial and district level
Implementing NGOs: Specify polio activities (SIA/Surv) as part of one of the 7 components of
BPHS and ensure allocation of adequate resources Hold a national meeting with NGO representatives (contracting and
non-contracting ) to ensure their buy-in. Disseminate decision to provincial/district level (Nov 2007)
Update NGO contract upon renewal to include provision of polio activities (2008)
Formally incorporate polio component into CHW training (Nov 2007)
Incorporate NGO representation within national and provincial level polio
committees (Oct 2007)
Strengthen IEC department within MoPH
Assign a polio communication focal point (IEC)(Oct 2007)
Regular refresher training of MoPH/NGO communication staff
(Nov 2007)Immediately recruit a qualified full-time polio
communication officer to provide support in implementation at the national level (International post through partner agencies)
(Nov 2007)
Polio Communication: National Level Capacity
Polio Communication:Provincial Level Capacity Ensure all high risk provinces have an assigned polio
communication focal point (Nov 2007)
Work in concert with provincial health team and report back to the national IEC polio focal point
Responsible for leadership, coordination and monitoring of SM/C activities
Receive immediate and regular communication training by IEC polio focal point supported by partner agencies (Dec 2007)
Establish provincial inter-sectoral polio communication committees for high risk provinces:(Dec 2007)
Membership: Include other line departments, NGOs ToR: Review and oversee provincial communication strategy and
plan and monitor implementation at district level
Polio Communication: District Level Capacity
Ensure all high risk districts have a district communication coordinator working in concert with polio district team
(Dec 2007)Trained by and report to the provincial
communication focal pointToR:
Develop SM/C micro-plans appropriate to the local challenges
Coordinate and monitor communication activities
Polio Communication: District Level Capacity
Currently identified network categories: Elders, Mullahs, Teachers, CHW
Enhance community involvement: Community Development Council/ Shura Local inauguration ceremony for key polio related events (community
leaders/mullahs)Enhance involvement of women (immediate)
Women’s courtyard: develop materials, strategy and indicators Female CHW : reaching homes and dissemination messages through
service delivery (next SIA)
Training: SM/C training materials recently developed and distributed
Review and update training materials with focus on local adaptation
(Nov 2007)
CORE TEAM
6 Community Activists per CHS
District Communication Coordinator
NGO/Community
Provincial Polio Communication Focal Point
Prov Health Team
Family
NGO/CHWs:Health Facility
Mullah Imams TeachersElders CHWs
Training:
Revise IPC module
Nat’l Inter sectoral
Committee Polio Communication
Officer
Data
Women Courtyard
Polio Focal Point
IEC Department
NGO, CDC, Shura,Schools,
mosques etc
Provinicial Inter
sectoral Committee
Monitoring Process
Ensure the use of updated social mobilization campaign monitoring tools in all provinces
(Next SIA)
Ensure communication monitoring data is collected and analyzed regularly and used to modify activities(Next SIA)
SecurityTremendous efforts being made at
district levels (e.g. focused district strategy (FDS), access negotiators)
Recent successes especially in accessing 2 high risk districts and obtaining support for polio from local communities
Active fighting still ongoing and some clusters within districts are either inaccessible or difficult to verify quality and performance.
SecurityNeed to map inaccessible populations/areas at sub-
district levels (Immediate)
Intensify Coordination at higher level between GoA, ISAF, and other parties involved (Next SIA, ongoing)
Assess and expand successful strategies: e.g. access negotiators (Immediate)
Pilot using community monitoring to assess the quality of campaigns in hard to reach areas: require adequate training (Dec 2007)
Using alternative social networks at community levels to gain access (On-going)
Cross Border Issues and Mobile PopulationsEfforts are being made in tracking and vaccinating
mobile and border-crossing populationsGood collaboration between Pakistan and Afghanistan
and synchronizing SIAs:Continue regular meetings between provincial level
teams
Ensure better coordination at local level to implement agreed-upon decisions regarding vaccination strategies for border-crossing populations
Coordinate sharing of common communication materials, messages, and initiatives in border areas (Nov 2007)
Ensure appropriate location, visibility and shelter for vaccination posts (especially permanent ones)
(Next SIA)
Follow-up to communication activities
Hold regular (every 2 months) national-level meetings attended by provincial communication focal points to review progress. (Nov 2007)
Expand mandate of TAG to include substantial component of communication: Include communication expert on the TAG include updates by the national polio focal point regarding
progress in the high risk provinces(Sept 2007)
A time-bound action plan should be developed by the MoPH and partners to ensure implementation of these recommendations (Oct 2007)
SummaryIncredible strides have been made against great odds
and it is critical to sustain the achievements of the program as we move into this final phase of eradicating polio.
Communication has to play a central role in what comes next.
The recommendations focus on quickly building polio communication capacity through: Strengthening current communication structures and
capacity Reinforcing the current focus on high risk districts
and locally tailored strategies Utilizing program data to focus on the highest impact
activities Monitoring and follow-up for all SM/C activities And enhancing cooperation with Pakistan to ensure
that the areas of circulation are covered.
Thank You
top related