The Drum Beat 790 - Polio Lessons from Civil Society: The CORE Group Polio Project

• 1.COVID-19 Response - Shifting Priorities in Immunization and Nutrition Programming
  Among the participants in this CORE Group COVID-19 Coordination Call were: (i) Anuradha Gupta of Gavi, who explained how COVID-19 will likely have a devastating impact on immunisation programmes in least developed countries (LDCs) due to delayed and suspended immunisation campaigns and a drop in uptake and demand; (ii) Rebecca Fields of JSI, who highlighted the critical role of CSOs in immunisation in the context of the pandemic and explored ways they can contribute to communication and community engagement; and (iii) Dr. Samuel Usman of CGPP Nigeria, who discussed how CGPP has integrated its polio eradication work with COVID-19 activities. [May 2020]
  
   
• 2.The CORE Group Polio Project: An Overview of Its History and Its Contributions to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
  by Lee Losey, Ellyn Ogden, Filimona Bisrat, Roma Solomon, David Newberry, Ellen Coates, Dora Ward, Lisa Hilmi, Karen LeBan, Vanessa Burrowes, and Henry B. Perry
  This article offers an overview of the CGPP's work to engage more than 40 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in 11 countries over 20 years in the global effort to eradicate polio. In evaluating the contribution of the CGPP to the GPEI, the authors point to the assessment that communications and community engagement to mobilise social and community support for vaccination have been central, and that this is one of the important legacies of the GPEI for future global health work. [Oct 2019]
  
   
• 3.CORE Group Polio Project: Annual Report FY19
  by Lydia Bologna and Kathy Stamidis
  This report examines CGPP activities and contributions made in fiscal year (FY) 2019, featuring country reports organised around CGPP's quest to support: (i) effective partnerships with organisations/agencies involved in polio eradication; (ii) private voluntary organisation (PVO)/NGO efforts to strengthen immunisation systems; (iii) PVO/NGO efforts to strengthen acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) case detection; (iv) PVO/NGO involvement in planning and implementation of supplemental polio immunisation; (v) timely documentation and use of information; and (vi) PVO/NGO participation in polio eradication certification activities. [Mar 2020]
  
   

• 4.The Critical Role and Evaluation of Community Mobilizers in Polio Eradication in Remote Settings in Africa and Asia
  by Judy Lewis, Karen LeBan, Roma Solomon, Filimona Bisrat, Samuel Usman, and Ahmed Arale
  This cross-country analysis assesses how CGPP's community mobilisers (CMs) engaged communities not only for polio eradication but in other areas of maternal and child health. It uses the community health worker (CHW) Assessment and Improvement Matrix (AIM) to examine CGPP CM roles across 5 CGPP settings. "Areas of importance include community engagement, local adaptation, and linkage with the health system - critical areas for current and future epidemics." [Aug 2020]
  
   
• 5.Use of Social Mobilization and Community Mobilizers by Non-governmental Health Organizations in Malawi to Support the Eradication of Polio, Improve Routine Immunization Coverage, and Control Measles and Neonatal Tetanus
  by Andrew Chimpololo and Vanessa Burrowes
  The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), CGPP, and their non-governmental health organisation (NGHO) partners have used social mobilisation (SM) and CMs as the cornerstone of their strategy for polio eradication throughout the world. Document analysis and interviews with 11 NGHOs shed light on a variety of approaches for SM; examples are shared, as are challenges. The article examines approaches to strengthen SM and the role of CMs by NGHOs - e.g., more could be done to use women as mobilisers, engage teachers and students, and include mobile and remote communities in immunisation campaigns. [Oct 2019]
  
   
• 6.The CORE Group Partners Project in North East Nigeria: Community Engagement Strategies to Combat Skepticism and Build Trust for Vaccine Acceptance
  by Samuel Usman, Lydia Bologna, and Katherine V. Stamidis
  In North East Nigeria, anti-immunisation rumours and sentiments have negatively impacted the country's polio eradication efforts. Since 2014, CGPP has leveraged local-level strategies, including use of volunteer community mobilisers (VCMs), to help change prevailing attitudes and behaviours by improving immunisation acceptability and addressing noncompliance. It provides examples of community engagement in Yobe state, including "the development of context-specific messages in the local language that resonate with families." What makes VCMs effective is their "solid knowledge" about polio, child health, and community needs, along with the "strong relationships" they have with families. [Oct 2019]
  
   
• * See also: Contributions of Volunteer Community Mobilizers to Polio Eradication in Nigeria: The Experiences of Non-governmental and Civil Society Organizations
  
  
• 7.The CORE Group Polio Project's Community Volunteers and Polio Eradication in Ethiopia: Self-Reports of Their Activities, Knowledge, and Contributions
  by Bethelehem Asegedew, Fasil Tessema, Henry B. Perry, and Filimona Bisrat
  In support of the GPEI, more than 10 million community-based health volunteers have participated in supplemental immunisation activities (SIAs) and administered oral polio vaccine (OPV). This article describes the development, knowledge, and practices of a specialised type of community volunteers (CVs), whom the CGPP has trained and deployed in sparsely populated regions of Ethiopia inhabited by pastoralist and semi-pastoralist populations and in border areas at high risk for transmission of poliovirus from neighbouring countries. [Oct 2019]
  
   
• * See also: Trust, Communication, and Community Networks: How the CORE Group Polio Project Community Volunteers Led the Fight against Polio in Ethiopia's Most At-Risk Areas
  
  
• 8.Involvement of Civil Society in India's Polio Eradication Program: Lessons Learned
  by Roma Solomon
  Uttar Pradesh (UP) was the Indian state with maximum opposition to the polio eradication programme. UNICEF and CGPP CMs would approach households together for fear of being turned away, abused, or assaulted. In 2003, the CGPP and UNICEF jointly approached the UP government with the proposal of forming a social mobilisation network (SMNet). Community mobilisation coordinators (CMCs), mostly women, were selected from the high-risk and most-resistant communities and then trained in interpersonal communication, negotiation skills, and other behaviour change strategies. Based on these experiences, the article shares a number of lessons learned, including the need to define roles based on partner competencies. [Oct 2019]
  
   

• See also:
  The Drum Beat 773 - Influencing Change: CORE India Polio Learning
  The Drum Beat 780 - When People Engage
  

• 9.Effective Partnership Mechanisms: A Legacy of the Polio Eradication Initiative in India and Their Potential for Addressing Other Public Health Priorities
  by Jitendra Awale, Manojkumar Choudhary, Roma Solomon, and Adesh Chaturvedi
  While many factors contributed to the successful elimination of polio from India, partnership and coordination mechanisms at multiple levels that have evolved over the years have been important elements. This is the central argument of this paper, the authors of which assert that the learnings and expertise of the CGPP in developing, managing, and nurturing partnerships can be adapted and replicated in other contexts for elimination or controlling other diseases and for ending preventable child and maternal deaths. [Oct 2019]
  
   
• 10.Preventing Importation of Poliovirus in the Horn of Africa: The Success of the Cross-Border Health Initiative in Kenya and Somalia
  by Ahmed Arale, Mercy Lutukai, Somane Mohamed, Lydia Bologna, and Katherine V. Stamidis
  In the aftermath of an outbreak of wild poliovirus (WPV) in the Horn of Africa (HOA), in 2014, Kenya's Ministry of Health (MOH) requested that the CGPP Kenya and Somalia HOA Secretariat initiate polio eradication activities in 5 counties along the Kenya-Somalia border. This article describes a systematic approach to institutionalising processes of dialogue and facilitation that can provide for a sustainable and effective joint cross-border health platform. [Oct 2019]
  
   
• 11.Lessons Learned from the CORE Group Polio Project and Their Relevance for Other Global Health Priorities
  by Henry B. Perry, Roma Solomon, Filimona Bisrat, Lisa Hilmi, Katherine V. Stamidis, Robert Steinglass, William Weiss, Lee Losey, and Ellyn Ogden
  As the world transitions toward global polio eradication, what lessons can be gleaned from the community-focused polio eradication strategies implemented by the CGPP, and how might they be applied to other global health priorities? Broadly, CGPP points to the potential of engaging the community, strengthening community platforms, and promoting community ownership in meeting global health goals in difficult-to-reach and vulnerable populations around the world. [Oct 2019]
  
   

• 12.Effectiveness of a Census-Based Management Information System for Guiding Polio Eradication and Routine Immunization Activities: Evidence from the CORE Group Polio Project in Uttar Pradesh, India
  by Manojkumar Choudhary, Henry B. Perry, and Roma Solomon
  Census-based management information systems (CB-MISs) provide current information about everyone in the population covered by a public health programme and enable CHWss to make behavioural diagnoses of barriers to immunisation. Data reveal that, following the introduction of the CB-MIS in the CGPP catchment areas composed of hard-to-reach and resistant populations, "there has been an increase in polio campaign coverage, a reduction in the percentage of households that resist polio immunization, and a sustained high level of RI [routine immunisation] coverage for polio and other antigens." The article also assesses the feasibility of the CB-MIS for vital events registration and its effectiveness for other health programmes. [Oct 2019]
  
   
• 13.Evaluation of the Functionality and Effectiveness of the CORE Group Polio Project's Community-Based Acute Flaccid Paralysis Surveillance System in South Sudan
  by Anthony Kisanga, Bausumo Abiuda, Peter Walyaula, Lee Losey, and Omongot Samson
  This evaluation assesses the community-based surveillance (CBS) system designed and implemented by CGPP in conflict-affected and inaccessible areas of South Sudan between October 2015 and September 2017. In short, it was found to be effective, despite challenging field conditions - e.g., the CBS system recorded an increase from 36.0% in 2014 to 92.0% in December 2016 for the number of counties that were reporting AFP. The CGPP is now positioned to use the community engagement required for the CBS system for promotion of RI, guinea worm eradication, and control of other communicable diseases, including pandemic influenza. [Oct 2019]
  
   
• 14.Comprehensive Assessment of the CORE Group Polio Project (CGPP): A Process Evaluation Perspective
  by Erma Manoncourt, Ben Nkowane, and Rafah Aziz
  This evaluation of the CGPP discusses findings in 5 areas: (i) Secretariat model; (ii) major contributions - success strategies; (iii) main deliverables and GPEI programme objectives; (iv) strengths/successes/accomplishments vs. weaknesses/challenges; and (v) opportunities/specific lessons. Sample recommendations: Track/link CGPP behavioural data findings to CBS results and the effect of community mobilisation and communication activities; and share CGPP experiences/processes (e.g., training, mobiliser motivation, materials development) and related good practices to facilitate information/knowledge transfer and influence the profession. [Dec 2019]
  
   
• * See also: Improvements in Polio Vaccination Status and Knowledge about Polio Vaccination in the CORE Group Polio Project Implementation Areas in Pastoralist and Semi-Pastoralist Regions in Ethiopia
  
  

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