Polio Eradication Initiative Afghanistan: Polio Communication Update and Plans

In this presentation prepared as part of a polio Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting (November 30 - December 1 2013, Kabul, Afghanistan), the Ministry of Public Health explores:

• Communication updates on the 2012-2013 National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) - <10% of children were missed due to all social reasons, and there was an increase from 50% to 90% in caregivers' awareness about polio immunisation campaigns.
• NEAP 2013-2014 communication objectives - Community is at the centre, with community demand for polio vaccination defined in the NEAP at 2 levels: caregiver demand and community engagement.
• Strategic communications:
  • Focus and interventions - Through the Immunization Communication Network (ICN) - see below - interventions include: mass media and information, education, and communication (IEC) materials, partnerships, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for corrective actions. The focus in these interventions is on increasing demand and community ownership, reducing missed children due to refusals, conducting evidence-based local-level communication intervention planning, and bolstering routine immunisation (RI) communications.
  • ICN - All social mobilisers undergo interpersonal communication (IPC) training prior to each round of immunisations; they then carry out house-to-house visits prior to each campaign in the South Region, bringing IEC materials along.
  • Mass media - There has been intensified public service announcement (PSA) broadcast on national and regional channels, as well as a partnership with the media group Moby Group, which led to polio and RI messages being included within programmes on women and health, etc. More than 150 national and local journalists/radio jockeys were oriented.
  • IEC and programme visibility - Activities included: developing a training flipbook, IPC training video, frequently asked questions (FAQ) for volunteers; erecting more than 250 billboards in marketplaces, transit areas, and highways; conducting mobile miking/parades/rallies conducted in Kabul and polio priority provinces; and carrying out sports events at the regional level.
  • Women's engagement - Strategies included: Mass media focused on reaching more women (37% PSAs exclusively reached out to them); there was an increase in female social mobilisers (SMs) in the ICN; 3,940 women were oriented by ICN at provincial and district levels through courtyard meetings, women's groups, literacy centres, etc.; and more than 60,000 women received messages on polio and RI at religious shrines in South Region.
  • Partnerships for community ownership - Functional provincial SM groups included polio focal points from line ministries: Religious Affairs, Women's Affairs, Education, Rural Development, and Youth and Information. There was also orientation of community influencers (teachers, mullahs, and community elders) to generate awareness about the polio campaign, educate about importance of vaccination, emphasise the importance of gaining access into inaccessible areas, and foster support for refusal conversion.
  • Efforts to reach people on the move - Actions included: IPC trainings for all transit and cross-border teams, IEC at cross-border sites, billboards on highways, meeting with community elders of nomadic groups, and orientation of cartwheel pushers.
• Evidence-based communication planning and management - For example, capacity-building involved training 30 key participants from the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO) from 4 priority regions on PolioInfo and SMS (text messaging) data capture systems.
• RI and convergence communication - Basic RI messages are part of all existing polio communication materials and messages, and handwashing and breastfeeding messages are included in the ICN training flipbook.
• Programme priorities and way forward
  • With regard to the ICN, plans are to: Adapt ICN based on local context to ensure quick scale-up as required, build capacity (IPC, RI and convergence messaging, analysis of refusal reasons data and child-not-at-home data for customised local-level strategies), increase engagement of women in a culturally sensitive and socially acceptable manner, and strengthen monitoring and supervision of the network.
  • With regard to high-risk groups, one idea going forward is to systematise a plan to track and reach all high-risk underserved populations, including nomads and economic and agricultural migrants, with polio-plus communications materials.
  • With regard to mass media and IEC, the plan is to generate TV/radio programming/print coverage at the provincial level in local dialect and conduct radio jockey/journalist Workshops. Another goal is to expand convergence IEC materials for illiterate populations.
  • With regard to M&E, one idea going forward is to streamline data sharing within the polio partnership at all levels for rapid analysis and action.

Click here for the 20-slide PowerPoint presentation.