Peer-reviewed article
Now that Nigeria is polio-free: The effects that social mobilisation programme on polio immunisation program had on the hard to reach parents of children eligible for immunisation programmes in Nigeria
O. Kusimo Nelly, O. Kusimo Michael ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how social mobilisation programmes affected polio vaccination acceptance among hard-to-reach parents in Nigeria during the polio epidemic. Through interviews with parents selected by child age, religion and social status, the research found that religion, distance to health facilities, and health worker behaviour were key barriers to vaccination uptake. The study concluded that involving respected religious leaders was critical to improving vaccination acceptance in these communities, ultimately contributing to Nigeria achieving polio-free status.
Key points
- Religion, service factors (distance to health facility), and health staff behaviour were identified as key barriers to social mobilisation efforts among hard-to-reach groups
- Engagement of respected Muslim religious leaders proved decisive in increasing polio vaccination acceptance and compliance
- Nigeria's success in polio eradication coincided with one of the most respected Muslim leaders taking ownership of the vaccination campaign
- Social mobilisation effectiveness for hard-to-reach populations can be accelerated through involvement of religious leaders due to their influence over followers
Limitations
The study does not provide quantitative data on vaccination coverage rates before and after the religious leader involvement, making it difficult to measure the magnitude of impact. The research focuses on Nigeria's experience and may not be generalizable to other contexts with different religious or cultural compositions.
Abstract
Vaccination prepares the body’s immune system ready to recognise, destroy and remember foreign disease-causing agents when it encounters them. It is the most effective way of averting communicable diseases if fully accepted and demanded by the population at risk of spreading contagious diseases. Social mobilisation has been a critical way of encouraging demands, as well as acceptance and compliance, by the general public for immunisation services. Vaccination campaign against poliovirus by WHO since 1988 was a huge success across the globe except in three countries: Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Up until 3 years ago, polio eradication remained a challenge in Nigeria due mainly to non-acceptance of the vaccination by the hard-to-reach (HtoR) group. In this study, carried out at the height of the epidemic in Nigeria, we investigated the effects that social mobilisation on polio vaccination had on the hard-to-reach group. The participants were selected based on three criteria: age of the child, religion and social status. Semi-structured interview was employed and data analysed using the thematic content analysis. The results revealed that religion, service factor-distance to health facility and health staff behaviour are the key factors limiting the social mobilisation effort among the HtoR group. Nigeria began to make success only when one of the most respected Muslim leaders took ownership of the campaign for the elimination of polio, which has now placed Nigeria among the polio-free countries. Therefore, effective social mobilisation for vaccination programs of the HtoR group could be achieved faster with the involvement of religious leaders because of the enormous influence they have on their followers. This revelation is very important to note for the success of the upcoming vaccination campaign against COVID-19 disease, now that effective vaccines against the disease have been developed and ready for distribution. Keywords: Poliovirus, COVID-19, vaccination, social mobilisation, hard-to-reach population.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Social mobilisation programme involving religious leaders in polio vaccination campaign
- Population
- Hard-to-reach parents of children eligible for polio immunisation in Nigeria, selected by child age, religion and social status
Key finding
Involvement of respected Muslim religious leaders in the polio vaccination campaign led to increased acceptance and compliance