A Personal Visit to a National Immunization Day
Judy Harwell from the Bellaire SW Houston Club visited with us this week to talk about her experiences during a trip to India in October 2008 when she participated in a National Immunization Day (NID) effort in conjunction with about 40 other Rotarians from District 5890 along with members of the local Indian Rotary Club and health care professionals.
The campaign was broken down as follows:
1. Road Show - There was a road show (Rally) one day prior to Polio NID to create the awareness in Parents / Guardians / Public.
2. Polio Immunization Surveillance Round / NID - Agra-Firozabad full day Activity Polio Immunization Day (Surveillance Round) in Polio Effected Area supported by Local Rotary Clubs + District 3110 along with Local Chief Medical Officer (CMO) & other Senior Health Officers with Commissioner & District Magistrate of that area. Morning at 8.30 AM attended the Inaugural function at District / Hospital compound.
3.The Mop-Up-Round- This round started after Polio NID for the next 3 days in which volunteer went door to door, house to house and provide the Polio vaccine to the children who could not come to have the Polio vaccine on Polio NID.
One of the major "hang-ups" was the misunderstanding by local religious leaders as to the purpose of the NID and the administration of the vaccine. Some of these leaders were under the impression that the vaccine could be harmful to the children. Once this conceptional error was overcome things went much more smoothly.
Since the inception of the Polio Plus Program, Rotary has assisted our partner organizations and local governments in immunizing over 2 BILLION children against polio and other diseases. But, unfortunately, there is still work to be done.
Judy also shared photos of the awful living conditions found in many areas of India. Very unsettling.
We will have another look at an NID with a presentation by Jon and Evelyn Eiche in mid-July.
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