In collaboration with CORE-UNICEF, Women's Interlink Foundation (WIF) actively participated in the intensive emergency response following the reported polio case in Howrah in January 2011. Through a network of trained community mobilizers, the programme focused on strengthening Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIAs), with particular emphasis on reaching resistant and underserved families.

The initiative was implemented across 14 wards of the Howrah Municipality and played a significant role in enhancing community awareness, addressing vaccine hesitancy, and improving Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) coverage. Through sustained community engagement and mobilization efforts, the programme contributed to strengthening immunization uptake and supporting public health efforts towards polio eradication.

Objective:

• Capacity Building of the Mobilizers/ BC/PC on Pulse Polio through trainings.
• Awareness generation through dissemination of information on eradication of polio through IEC materials & meetings.
• To develop linkages with Government & local doctors and other partners like WHO, NPSP to facilitate social mobilization for polio eradication activities.
• Involvement of parents as well as mobilizers and community in polio eradication as key persons.

Target group: 0-5 years children covering all leaving none.

Activities:

A wide range of community mobilization, awareness generation, and coordination activities were undertaken to strengthen polio immunization coverage and ensure the successful implementation of Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIAs). These included Ward-Level Task Force Meetings, District and Municipal Task Force Meetings, meetings with influential community leaders, religious leaders, medical officers, and partner organizations such as NPSP, as well as regular coordination with health authorities.

Community outreach efforts focused on interpersonal communication with families, mothers’ and fathers’ meetings, polio awareness sessions, school rallies, pre-booth health camps, house-to-house visits, and targeted interventions to convert resistant and missed households (XR/XS conversion). Additional awareness activities included talking doll shows, magic shows, auto-rickshaw campaigns, mosque announcements, and the distribution of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials.

Capacity-building initiatives were also conducted through training and reorientation workshops for mobilizers and vaccinators. Special efforts such as opening locked households, booth inaugurations by influential community members, and intensive booth-day mobilization further contributed to improving community participation and enhancing Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) coverage across the intervention areas.

Achievements:

Quantitative

• 2706 Children were provided with health check-up, medicines were immunized through 35 health camps.
• 246 Inter Personal Communication was organized in 10 wards.
• 260 Influential Meetings were conducted which included local school teachers, ward councilors, club members, local doctors, mosque members, shop keepers, small eatery owners, tailors and influential, key Community persons. They also visited X houses i.e. the resistant houses/families who refused to treat their children with polio drops, houses having sick children
• 27 magic shows and talking doll shows were held, through which mass awareness were generated among the communities.
• 103 Polio classes were held in different schools. The participants included Headmasters, teachers, students and their guardians. WIF distributed Comics amongst the students after the Polio class. The colourful book was well received.
• 15 Auto campaigns, which covered all the project specific wards including resistant and sick pockets. The autos were decorated with banners and flags. Polio messages were conveyed through mikes. IEC materials were distributed among the bystanders.
• 51 rallies were organized as active participants. IEC materials such as handbills in Urdu and Hindi were distributed among the bystanders.
• Mosque announcements were made by the Imams during SNIDs. Appeal letters from the District Magistrate were distributed among the social mobilisers and they handed over the letters to the Secretary and Imams for announcement.
• Bolao Toli:, A new concept was introduced which was implemented during the September SNID. 5-10 children formed a group under the supervision of the Social Mobilisers in each ward. A total of 35 ‘Bolao Toli' worked during the SNID. This was very effective in bringing children and guardians to the booth. The children in the ‘Bolao Toli were provided with badges.
• IEC materials such as Titli, inland letters, leaflets in Hindi, Urdu and Bengali. Comic books, posters, caps and flags were distributed for polio class rallies etc.
• Trainings were given time to time to update the PCs, BCs, mobilisers on communication skills for social mobilization.

Qualitative:

• Strong network between the communities, mobilisers, WIF and the Government Health department's representatives at field and policy & Management level who are the Government Supervisors and Doctors, Zonal Medical officers & Municipal Medical officers. Through National Polio Surveillance Programs, District Level Task Force Meetings, Municipal Task Force Meetings, meetings at Borough and Zonal level.
• A huge acceptance and appreciation of the work done by WIF in mobilization at community level leading to visible success implementation and efficiency in micro planning.
• Increase in wards given to WIF by popular demand from the Senior Medical Officers and demand for undisturbed continuation of our interventions. The creation of a model in ward no. 34 has led to WIF being able to take on ward 38 under Borough IV, since the rate of XR house were more and it was difficult for Government Health representatives to convert them into positive.
• WIF facilitated retention of Routine Immunization Cards and has prepared a ward wise list for those who had lost their cards.
• Increase in booth coverage.