Poor quality vaccination campaigns, lack of government commitment helping polio spread in Chad

"Poor-quality emergency immunization campaigns and low routine polio immunization coverage are helping the polio virus to spread in Chad, with 132 cases reported in 2011 -- five times the number in 2010," IRIN reports. "More commitment is needed across the board, especially from local health authorities, to try to get immunizations right, say aid agencies," the news service adds.

"While a dysfunctional health system is linked to poor routine immunization coverage, 'the primary reason [for the upsurge] is operational,' said Oliver Rosenbauer, spokesperson for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative at WHO in Geneva," according to IRIN. The news service discusses reasons why some children are missed during vaccination campaigns, highlights the need for local-level government commitment and writes, "To ensure fewer children are missed, immunizers need to make better use of 'social data' to find out why and where a campaign is not working, says" Irina Dincu, WHO and UNICEF's West Africa communication for development specialist (1/31).