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Angola’s Response to the Circulation of Wild Poliovirus

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Presented at: The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting on Communication for Polio Eradication

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Summary

This PowerPoint presentation was part of a November 2006 meeting hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) African Regional Office (AFRO) in Zimbabwe. At this meeting, country-specific presentations were made by communication practitioners in 5 countries which have experienced ongoing cases of wild polio virus (WPV) from 2005 to 2006. The objectives of the meeting included the following:

  1. To critically review country communication strategies and activities for polio eradication, routine immunisation and integrated expanded programme of immunisation (EPI)-polio action including progress in implementing the
    Yaounde 2005 TAG country recommendations.
  2. To develop the technical recommendations for each country which, when implemented, would improve polio and routine communication performance.
  3. To develop and propose communication indicators that can be effective in measuring the impact of communication strategies for improved polio eradication and expanded routine immunisation.


This presentation gives an overview of the spread of WPV in Angola in the context of the current socio-political status of the country. A comprehensive list of coverage responses, activities and objectives since the introduction of WPV into the country in 2005 is given. The presentation concludes with an extensive discussion on advocacy, communication strategies and future immunisation challenges currently facing Angola.

Since the introduction of WPV into Angola in 2005, 6 national immunisation days (NIDs) have occurred, as well as one sub-national immunisation day (sub-NID). The results of the sub-NID in March 2006 reflected 1.79 million children under 5 vaccinated, out of a targeted 1.81 children. Provincial and municipal coverage results reflect coverage in over 90% of the population.

The presentation listed the following country objectives for October 2006 to December 2007:

  • Interrupting WPV transmission
  • Increasing the level of immunity of the targeted population against poliomyelitis, combining NIDs and intensification of routine immunisation (RI)
  • Intensifying the epidemiological surveillance and integrating other health interventions to vaccination delivery in order to obtain synergies in under-5 mortality reduction

The Ministry of Health (MOH) outlined a number of strategies aimed at achieving the presented objectives, including: political engagement at the highest levels; expanding partnerships with other state and civil society sectors, such as the army and national police; and an integrated approach to supplementary immunisation activities (SIAs), RI and surveillance. The MOH has planned two upcoming NID rounds for 2007.

This presentation illustrated the following communication strategies for immunisation, as part of a 2006 Integrated Nationwide Campaign: political advocacy (at national and sub-national levels); media journalistic coverage (in at least six Angolan newspapers); interpersonal communication (involving community activities/household visits by health care workers, traditional leaders and activists); and mass media communication (in an increasing number of local languages, through both public and private media). Radio, mobilisers and television seemed to be the most effective means of informing vulnerable families about NIDs.

The MOH outlined the following management activities related to this process:

  • Strengthening of communication sub-committees at the national and provincial levels.
  • Routine weekly meetings.
  • Annual meetings with provincial social mobilisation (SocMob) supervisors.
  • Integrated microplanning activities and mapping communities.

The presentation also identified the following challenges to immunisation:

  • Hard to reach municipalities and villages.
  • Population tiring of frequent campaigns.
  • Confinement to social mobilisation to support NIDs.
  • Frequent turnover of volunteers following training.
  • Changes to SIA calendar.

In conclusion, a summary of important communication strategy lessons learned to date was given. These included contact with hard-to-reach communities by helicopter, reaching the middle class through cable television and relaying messages to promote vaccinator access while children are asleep. Participatory and decentralised approaches were also seen as key strategic principles, which involve shifting micro-planning responsibilities to municipalities and partners (based on their area of expertise).

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