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The Communication Initiative
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Polio Campaign

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In 2004, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) organised an immunisation and vaccine initiative as part of its National Immunization Days (NIDs) in Ghana. As part of this effort, media and religious communication officers gathered in a consultative meeting, in preparation for which a printed toolkit was created. An associated teachers' toolkit was then produced and distributed. This programme uses printed information in an effort to increase knowledge and understanding, with the hope that actions to interrupt transmission of the Wild Poliovirus (WPV), search for, and promptly report all cases of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) will follow.
Communication Strategies

UNICEF began by organising a media/religious communication officers consultative meeting to seek the perspectives of these personnel on what types of strategies to undertake to address the problem of polio in Ghana (particularly in the Great Accra Region). In preparation for this meeting, organisers compiled a media/communication officers toolkit that contained the following:

  • Background to the media/communication consultation meeting and copies of presentations that were to be made
  • Ghana polio "fast facts"
  • West African polio "fast facts"
  • NIDs polio fliers with key messages
  • Frequently asked questions and answers about polio
  • Position statement on the safety and quality of oral polio vaccine (OPV)
  • A copy of "Resolution No 14/10-S&T (IS) on Global Cooperation in polio Eradication programme among OIC member states
  • Copies of the African Union's "Decision on the Third Ordinary Session of the Executif Council, 4 - 8 July 2003, Maputo, Mozambique" (click here to download this file in PDF format)
  • A copy of the Lungi Declaration. Signed jointly by 3 African leaders, this document "seeks to promote the welfare of the children through partnership. The declaration acknowledges that without cooperation, there would be no peace and prosperity in West Africa. They expressed optimism that polio would be eradicated by the envisaged period of 2005 in West Africa, and 2015 by the whole world"
  • A video message from the UN Secretary General.

After the meeting, UNICEF developed and compiled a teachers' polio toolkit for distribution to all primary schools nationwide. The office of the Executive Director of Ghana Education Service participated in the redistribution effort. This toolkit contained the following documents:

  • Ghana polio "fast facts"
  • West African polio "fast facts"
  • NIDs polio fliers with key messages
  • Frequently asked questions and answers about polio
  • Public announcements.

These documents were produced, typeset, printed, and spiral-bound in black and white in UNICEF's Ghana office. The question-and-answer sheet was branded with the UNICEF logo. UNICEF supplied paper folders bearing the UNICEF logo and Ghanaian paintings; when organisers ran short of these folders, the toolkits were packaged in ordinary paper files.

Additional printed materials focus exclusively on AFP, such as a flier to be included in all toolkits for distribution before the November 2004 round of NIDs. Furthermore, in an effort to encourage schoolchildren to play a key role in AFP surveillance, 5 series of a very simple booklet called "Ayisha and Abu" will be accompanied by a 6th publication that focuses primarily on AFP. In addition, organisers produced a Social Mobilization AFP Surveillance Community Training Flip Chart that features questions and animated characters/illustrations related to AFP. Organisers hope to translate this flip chart into commonly spoken languages to create a community training tool.

Development Issues

Immunisation & Vaccines, Health, Children.

Partners

UNICEF, Ghana Education Service.