Polio Pipeline - 9th Edition

From the Polio Eradication Research and Product Development team at the World Health Organization (WHO), the 9th edition of the Polio Pipeline newsletter examines the role research will play in helping implement the new Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018. This plan aims to secure a lasting polio-free world by, for example, eventually switching from trivalent oral polio vaccine (OPV) to bivalent OPV in routine immunisation (RI) programmes (and the eventual cessation of all OPVs), including the universal introduction of at least one dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). While not elaborated upon here, the shift from trivalent to bivalent vaccine and to a single dose of IPV for all could have significant communication ramifications.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are described in this resource as being tools used to end polio transmission for good. For example, as part of efforts to address the problem of missing certain locations in supplementary immunisation activity (SIA), in Nigeria, new micro-planning templates, supplemented by new global information systems (GIS) maps, are helping to identify nomadic populations and other groups. Global positioning system (GPS) technology is being used in Nigeria to monitor SIAs, identify gaps and missed areas, and assist vaccination teams as they navigate hard-to-reach areas.

As reported here, once the immunisation teams have used ICTs and other means to reach local populations, new communication strategies are being employed to reduce the rejection rate. A Nomadic Children's Festival in Pakistan and a Volunteer Community Mobilizer Network in Nigeria are part of efforts to increase community participation and build trust among parents to vaccinate their children against polio. In Afghanistan, a greater effort is being made to train women vaccinators. This is because male vaccinators cannot enter homes, which can lead to misinformation such as the belief that newborn, sick, or sleeping children can be exempted from an immunisation campaign.

In addition, Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) is being used to evaluate SIA quality in a timely manner. Initially evaluated in Pakistan, mobile phone technology use has now been fully adopted in Nigeria to support LQAS activities by facilitating the collection and analysis of data. "In Pakistan, the error rate of data entry on children's finger-marking status was less than 1%. With improvements of mobile network connection in most polio-affected areas and availability of an inexpensive smart phone, the GPEI is expanding the application of this technology in other operational areas (e.g. field checklist) and countries." Also described here is the POLIS project, which converts previous polio databases (consisting of databases with different formats and analysis requirements) into one unified web-based system.

Looking ahead, it is noted that, in 2013, "an extensive consultation process on legacy planning will begin with governments, stakeholders, donors and implementing partners, and outcomes of these consultations will be brought to the World Health Assembly through the Regional Committees. Focus will be on mainstreaming the long-term polio functions into existing national and international public health mechanisms."