Presented at: The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting on Communication for Polio Eradication - New Delhi, India

This PowerPoint presentation was part of a March 2007 United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)-hosted meeting dedicated to examining polio communication efforts, in the context of the final global push towards polio eradication. State-specific presentations for India's polio-endemic states (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) were given by in-country communication and health practitioners. These were assessed by an external Technical Advisory Group (TAG) panel of experts who provided communication strategy recommendations based on evidence presented and data gathered on field-visits to endemic states. Communication strategies presented at this meeting were primarily focused on:

1. Analysing the results of programmes implemented to March 2007.
2. Detailing activities on national and sub-national levels, specific to social mobilisation, community engagement, underserved areas and media and political advocacy strategies.
3. Suggesting a planned communication programme for the next 6- to 12-month period, designed to support India's polio eradication efforts in the event of a resurgence of cases or population/programme fatigue.

This presentation gives an overview of the TAG perspective and impressions of the polio communication programme in India, based on the presentations at the meeting. It moves on to provide specific recommendations in the areas of:

• Organisation of the communication effort
• Community communication
• Messaging
• Media
• Other issues

The overall impressions of polio communication in India from the TAG perspective were that the programme is impressive, unique, effective, innovative and comprehensive. The following recommendations were presented regarding the organisation of the communication effort:

1. That the polio programme requires intermediate benchmarks to condition and guide the process.
2. Contingency planning should begin immediately to prepare for a high polio case situation following the rainy season.
3. Engagement of representatives from all levels in the polio communication review and planning process.
4. Strengthen efforts to relate epidemiological data with communication data and trends.

In the area of community communication, the TAG panel suggested the following:

1. Increase efforts to understand the motivations and interests of the polio communication workforce.
2. Increase use and analysis of qualitative data to understand family decision making dynamics.
3. Introduce specific systems to improve two-way and horizontal communication within the polio programme.
4. Place a much higher emphasis on negotiation and facilitation communication training.

Regarding the issue of messaging within the programme, the TAG presented the following recommendations:

1. More clear guidance is needed from the scientific community regarding answers to the difficult questions related to polio vaccination.
2. Polio needs to be proactively positioned in the broader context of routine immunisation and infant health issues.
3. A community behaviour modelling strategy should be adopted to illustrate response to vaccination in a full set of community level dynamics.

In the area of media advocacy and engagement, the TAG panel suggested that a formal media/journalist information network should be established to avoid an overly reactive approach.

Other suggestions presented by the TAG included:

1. Engage non-Muslim clergy/religious leaders.
2. Engage more actively with men.
3. Close gaps in formative research in order to better inform information, education, and communication (IEC) materials and media activities.
4. Triple check the most critical and common communication assumptions.
5. Undertake an IEC effectiveness study in order to inform their use.
6. Conduct systematic debriefs with community mobilisation coordinators (CMCs) to understand their perceptions of what works best in IEC materials.

Following this presentation, a fully developed set of these recommendations (including a contextual analysis of the main perceived polio communication issues) was synthesised and circulated to all conference participants.

Click here to download the full PowerPoint presentation as a PDF document.