Fact Sheet – India PolioPlus Programme

This 14-page document reports on a Rotary Club-sponsored orientation for the purpose of mobilising the polio eradication work force and the general populace in the state of Bihar, India, in August of 2007. The 300 participants meeting in Muzaffarou, India, heard plenary addresses and then heard an interactive session of "new ideas, ...past experiences, and the impact of certain misgivings." This document reviews the immunisation and advocacy work of this programme.


Included in the past experiences were reviews of free health camps located in polio endemic districts, which were designed to examine and diagnose patients, provide medicines, and refer serious problems to hospitals. Scheduled just prior to national immunisation days [NIDs], they build goodwill and appear to result in a higher level of community cooperation. The events brought parental support for the polio programmes and volunteers for immunisation booth coverage. A health examination exclusively for girls was organised prior to a state-wide NID. Camp attendance gave Rotarians and doctors a chance to educate villagers about the nature of polio and its prevention and dispel rumours and myths associated with vaccination.


In Moradabad, an area of particularly high resistance to immunising children, Rotarians used booths with a festive atmosphere to attract families. They reported a 5% increase in immunisation coverage. A team of a male and a female doctor worked on converting specific 'XR' - households resisting immunisation - and were able to administer vaccine at 19 households, due to good will from the previously held medical check-up camps.

During the pilgrimage of Haj, the Saudi Arabian government issued a directive for Hajis (pilgrims) to be vaccinated before arriving in Mecca. Haj, as stated in this document, the most important pilgrimage for the Muslims, presents an opportunity for Polio Eradication Partners to communicate the endorsement of vaccination against polio by Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia. A polio immunisation camp for Haj pilgrims was organised in Moradabad.


Information, education, and communication (IEC) materials distributed include a Ramzam [holy month] calendar distributed to Haj pilgrim. The calendar included appeals by Ulemas (Islamic religious leaders) with pictures of adults and children taking the immunisation drops. Other IEC material, such as booklets, pamphlets (routine and appeal), and posters, were also being distributed through the Haj stalls and booths. Routine immunisation pamphlets with "a complete info book on immunisation – detailing all the diseases and the time frame for each immunization and their dosage - and including a Pulse Polio message" were prepared for distribution in Moradabad at immunisation booths and for house-to-house distribution. Local paediatricians participated in the publication of appeals pamphlets for the Moradabad area. A United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Polio 'Kavariya rally' on August 19-20 2007 received Rotary support, including orange-coloured polio message t-shirts.


Other activities included official visits to remote tribal villages to thank and encourage immunisation workers, and a specially convened meeting between Polio Partners and government health officials to work on urban immunisation coverage issues. Policy advocacy work included meeting political leaders in Andhra Pradesh, as well as receiving the endorsement of the Minister of Health and Family Welfare and several National Committee members (NCM) at a new booth inauguration and at a booth placed at the Family Welfare Training Centre. Media coverage and visits of politicians highlighted Rotary's immediate response to a first outbreak in remote Kattivari Gudem. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), a telephone company in Andhra Pradesh, used the day prior to the September SNID to flash a Pulse Polio message to its subscribers as a reminder of the already advertised SNIDs.

The document concludes with details of the current status of polio cases in India (September 2007) by location and year and information about vaccination schedules and types of viruses targeted.