Building Community Support for Polio Eradication

The overall goal of this project is to stop the spread of polio virus in Pakistan where the vast majority of the remaining cases of polio occur. It is implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which along with the Government of Pakistan and the World Health Organization spearheads the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative. This initiative supports UNICEF’s activities in communities at risk of contracting polio across Pakistan. The project activities increase the community acceptance of polio vaccination team workers through local language media campaigns health information packages and support to community level workers who engage community members on public health. These activities focus on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and the neighboring Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). In communities in these areas at highest risk for polio the initiative hires community vaccinators who work in their own communities to vaccinate children and promote health. This innovative approach is referred to as Continuous Community Protected Vaccination (CCPV).

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) reduced number of girls and boys missed or under-vaccinated by polio vaccination campaigns to zero in communities with the highest prevalence of polio in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas; (2) increased community acceptance of polio vaccinators across Pakistan using social mobilization with a focus on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas; and (3) improved depiction of polio vaccination in local language media nationally with a focus on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.