Niger - Communication Executive Summary

As of November 16, Niger has 21 confirmed cases of Polio for 2004 (WHO weekly Bulletin).

The consultants from Niger were pleased with the progress that had been made in the last year, as the case count for Niger has not increased substantially over the same time period from 2003. The have noted that their has been relatively good representation from religious leaders and NGOs and associations on the social mobilisation committees, though they have faced some coordination problems with the traditional chiefs. Niger is also a member of the CORE (Child Survival Collaborations and Resources) Group, a membership association of international non-governmental organisations. They have received substantial support in the areas of human capital and financial and logistical aid from various NGOs.

Media collaboration has also been strong and media guides and a media plan have both been developed though they still lack a person for committed advocacy with media outlets. There was however, a delay in the diffusion of the messages, with some only being broadcast 4 days prior to the vaccination campaign. Some problems in training have also been observed and some senior health staff have failed to apply the educational methods in their communities, and have not assessed their communication activities. The plan is to respond with greater supervision of the training process.

There has also been some weakness in the management and distribution of social mobilisation support materials and on the implementation side, it has been noted that the marking of children was not systematic and in some cases performed incorrectly.

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