Unicef Polio Consultant Report Outline

Target group:

Coverage per round of NIDs:

Date of last NIDs:

B) Communication for immunisation structure

1. Describe the national inter-agency coordinating committee (ICC).

- How often does it meet and who are the members? Are there terms of reference for the ICC and are the members able to manage the different tasks? Do the members know the existence of a communication workplan? Is the committee functioning for NIDs and routine EPI? Is there a Communication Committee represented within the ICC? Is there a budget?

2. Describe the national communication/social mobilisation committee (CC)

- Are there terms of reference for the Communication Committee? Who are the members? Do the terms of reference reflect the CC's responsibility for the overall co-ordination of communication activities for routine immunization, supplemental immunisation and disease surveillance? How often does the CC meet? Has the CC been involved in the development of the communication workplan?

3. Discuss the role of the communication/social mobilisation focal point.

- Is there someone permanently in this position? Is he/she an active member of the communication committee? Is the person attached to the EPI or health education unit?

II INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION WORKPLAN

A) Status of integrated communication workplan

1. Describe the status of the national communication workplan.

- Does the plan really address routine immunisation, NIDs, and surveillance in an integrated way? What is the timeframe (i.e. annual, 5 year, other) of the plan? What partners are involved? Does the plan address other immunisation-related issues, like injection safety, measles control, GAVI, integrated community surveillance, etc? Is the communication plan based on research, involving the community? Are national communication plans regularly revised and updated? Are those lessons learned implemented?

2. Which communication framework is used to elaborate the workplan?

- Is there an assessment report? Is the problem statement accurate? Are the problem behaviors, as well as the desired behaviors, clearly identified? Are the communication objectives "SMART" (specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic, time-bound)?

3. Discuss whether the plan sufficiently addresses needed resources (financial and human), materials (vehicles, cold chain, vaccines) and channels (e.g. mass media and interpersonal communication)

4. Describe integrated communication planning at sub-national (regional, district, and local) levels.

- Does national level provide encouragement, guidelines and funding to support decentralized planning and implementation of integrated communication plans? How are national and sub-national plans co-ordinated? Is the whole sub-national management staff involved in the design and implementation of the communication workplan? Are those plans implemented? Are district administrators, religious leaders, public officers, local opinion leaders, and chief of villages aware of ongoing polio eradication and EPI activities? Are national communication plans regularly revised and updated? Are lessons learned integrated regularly within the existing plan?

5. Note any additional technical and/or financial assistance that is needed to develop, revise and/or implement these plans.

6. Describe communication monitoring, supervision, and evaluation activities that are underway or planned and note how these are being measured and reported.

-How often national supervisory activities are conducted at sub-national level? Is communication part of the monitoring checklist? Are finding of those supervisions, monitoring and evaluation efforts communicated to the appropriate persons for action?

III. IMPLEMENTING THE INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION WORKPLAN

A) Advocacy, social mobilisation and programme communication

1. Briefly describe your/the team's advocacy activities.

- Is there an assessment made of previous advocacy activities? Is there a current advocacy strategy, which integrates the lessons learned from previous activities? Are the objectives of the advocacy strategy "SMART"? Do the advocacy activities address the magnitude and severity of the polio/EPI problems in the country? Do the advocacy activities stress the role of the political and social leadership throughout the year and do they focus on the actions that can be taken by them to improve their performance? Does the Communication Committee organize fund-raising activities?

2. Briefly identify your/the team's social mobilisation activities

- Are there mechanisms in place to track the partners and allies' involvement? Who are the partners and allies involved in EPI/PE efforts? Which organizations are not involved, but should? Are the partners and allies approached with very specific requests for needed support and resources? Do the partners receive recognition and credit for their support in all the social mobilisation material?

3. Briefly describe your/the team's programme communication activities (communication to directly bring about changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices among target public in relation to routine EPI, NIDs/mop-up, and surveillance).

3.1. Caretakers:Do caretakers have a positive of negative attitude in relation to immunisation? What is done to address existing barriers to immunisation among caretakers? Are the caretakers fully informed (NIDs, polio vaccine, routine immunisation)?

3.2. Service providers:Are there mechanisms in place to track service providers' involvement? Are service providers fully informed and trained in relation to interpersonal communication, eligible criteria for polio vaccination, polio vaccine, NIDs, routine vaccination?

3.3 Resistant groups, misconceptions on vaccination, and/or hard-to-reach:How do the communication committee and ICC use coverage data to identify low coverage areas, missed opportunities and zero-dose areas? Have pockets or groups with low coverage and dropout rates at national and sub-national level been identified at all, and where are they located? Does the integrated communication workplan address the hard-to-reach? Have channels or networks credible to the hard-to-reach been used to reach them? Is information concerning NIDs/EPI/disease surveillance given during religious and social gatherings? Are the communication activities for hard-to-reach monitored? Are lessons learned in relation to reaching the hard-to-reach integrated?

3.4 Messages and materials:Do the messages and communication materials address the problem behaviours identified? Are the messages targeted to the audience who perform the problem behaviours? Are communication materials and messages developed at national level also adapted to the local context? Are messages and materials drafted by communication experts on the basis of audience research? Are all the messages and materials pre-tested? Are the materials and messages periodically revised and findings incorporated? Are all available communication channels to reach the identified audience being used? Are interpersonal and face-to-face communication used at even opportunity? Are messages consistent with specific phase of progress?

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Please list your recommendations, based on the findings and needs identified with partners during this consultancy. Provide a brief summary of points for action taken in order to improve communication for polio eradication (including timeframe and person(s) responsible).

2. Note any additional comments that you would like to direct to WHO/AFRO, UNICEF and other international/regional partners who desire to support your work.

V. ATTACHMENTS AND APPENDICES

Attach to this report any relevant documents drafted, revised or received during this consultancy.

For more information, contact:

Thilly De Bodt - tdebodt@unicef.org