Red Card Against Polio Campaign

The Red Card Against Polio campaign employed a comprehensive approach to engage communities across all 26 provinces of the DRC. The components included: 

Traditional Media
A mass media strategy utilised national television and community radio stations to broadcast accurate information about polio, urging all Congolese to support child vaccination efforts. This strategy included:
 

• The production and broadcast of a 2-minute video (in French, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba, and Lingala) with influencers to launch the Red Card challenge; and
• The broadcast of 20,700 spots, broadcasts, video, and audio messages (in French, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba, and Lingala) on 100 radio and TV stations in the 26 provinces, including five TV channels with national coverage and 90 radio stations, of which 45 were community and religious radio stations. 
   

The campaign also included polio messages on panel displays, buses, light-emitting diode (LED) screens, and giant billboards. Materials to promote routine vaccination were also developed and displayed in 5,000 health centres. They included posters of vaccination calendars and immunisation schedules. 

Digital Media
The digital media component sought to encourage users across social media platforms to post pictures of themselves displaying a red card in solidarity with the cause. This initiative received more than 6,300 posts with the hashtag #StopPolioRDC.

With the assistance of over 500 Web Watchers (fact-checkers) and social media influencers, the campaign also sought to amplify accurate information about polio online while dispelling myths and rumours surrounding vaccination. According to the project, more than 25 million people were reached with polio messages. 

Community Mobilisation
Building on the messages distributed across the various communication channels, the project deployed over 900,000 local community animators and volunteers. The driving force behind these volunteers was the Community Animation Cells (CACs), which are volunteer committees in the DRC composed of 10 to 15 members elected by communities. These dedicated individuals embarked on house-to-house visits in every community, complemented by local theatre groups staging edutainment shows in community spaces. They engaged with mothers, fathers, and caregivers, informing them about polio vaccination campaigns (purpose, date, and targets), counting children, identifying cases of vaccine refusal, checking the immunisation schedules of children of routine vaccination age, and identifying zero-dose children and those who are under-vaccinated. According to the project, 92,460 CACs across 26 provinces informed more than 23 million parents and caregivers.

In addition, the campaign enlisted the support of over 1,000 influential personalities to encourage people to display the red card on social media and join forces to eradicate polio from the country. These influencers included political and administrative leaders, religious leaders, traditional chiefs, health professionals, community leaders, women's and girls' groups, young people, and celebrities from the arts, culture, and sports sectors. According to the project, the endorsement of these influential personalities was pivotal to its success.

Another key component of the campaign and overall polio eradication efforts in the DRC was the mobilisation of more than 15,000 young volunteers known as U-Reporters. They used public spaces like markets, transport stops, and bus stations to share accurate information, dispel rumours, and identify children without complete vaccination records. 

Following the initial six months, the Red Card Against Polio Campaign continued activities that included: (i) supporting the 'Big Catchup' campaign (designed to address the backsliding of immunisation coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic), with a focus on reaching zero-dose children; (ii) establishing the Forum of Women and Girl Leaders for Polio Eradication and Promotion of Routine Immunization; (iii) producing and screening a documentary film ("In the DRC, All United to Show the Red Against Polio"); and (iv) extending social mobilisation activities into the school setting.

Results
According to the project, the campaign:
 

• helped maintain a 90% awareness level among parents regarding polio vaccination dates;
• improved the percentage (from 85% to 98%) of parents and caregivers informed before, during, and between campaigns;
• reached more than 45 million Congolese with polio prevention messages; and
• contributed to vaccinating over 25 million children under the age of five during the nationwide polio campaign in November 2023.