Immunisation in Sub-Saharan Africa - Recommendations - Nigeria

from the report "Communication for Routine Immunisation and Polio Eradication: A Synopsis of Five Sub-Saharan Country Case Studies"

In October and November 1999, a series of case studies were carried out in five sub-Saharan countries. The broad objectives were to: document communication activities for polio eradication, routine immunisation and surveillance; exchange effective and innovative experiences; and provide recommendations for the improvement of communication interventions. The initiative was a collaborative effort undertaken by the Ministries of Health of visited countries, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Unites States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its subcontractors (BASICS, CHANGE and JHU-PCS). Visited countries were the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zambia.

Recommendations:

• The ICC should prioritize social mobilisation/IEC as a major component for boosting and sustaining immunisation activities and not as a secondary consideration after other components, such as provision of vaccines or logistics.
• Provision of adequate funds at all levels is needed to plan, conduct, monitor, and evaluate advocacy, social mobilisation and communication activities.
• Motivation of Social Mobilisation Committee members is needed, especially at lower levels, through secure salaries or stipends/per diems to support their work and transport costs and sustain year-round activities of the committees.
• Integration of the activities of the SMCs already existing in some states and sponsored by different partner agencies for different programmes. These activities, committees and partners need to be harmonized to support social mobilisation/IEC for routine and supplemental immunization and prevent parallel or conflicting systems.
• Additional advocacy is needed, particularly with the private sector (including medical/health organizations that invariably attend to the needs of a major segment of the population) to support and participate in routine and supplemental immunisation and surveillance.
• Strategies and activities should be planned, implemented and evaluated at all levels in Nigeria as outlined and documented in the Five-Year Integrated Communication Plan for Social Mobilisation/IEC.
• Training (and retraining) on social mobilisation/IEC for immunisation is needed at all levels for members of the SMCs.
• Formative, operational and qualitative research is needed on advocacy, social mobilisation and communication for immunisation to better define, develop and implement cost-effective strategies to overcome behavioural obstacles to higher coverage throughout the country.