2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

326772
Enhancing population immunity to polio in vulnerable populations in India, Angola, Nigeria, and the Horn of Africa through CHW interventions


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Lee Losey, B.A., M.A., M.Phil, MPH, CORE Group Polio Project and CRS, Chicago, IL
Goal:  The goal of the USAID and BMGF funded CORE Group Polio Project is to stop transmission of polio by raising population immunity through routine and campaign vaccination of children under five.  The CGPP is currently working with ten international NGOs and more than 20 CBOs in Angola, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan.

Objectives:  The three primary objectives of the project are to improve vaccination campaign quality, increase routine immunization coverage and enhance acute flaccid paralysis surveillance. 

Methodology:  The project achieves these objectives primarily through the intensive activities of a cadre of more than 7,000 community health workers targeting vulnerable and hard to reach populations who ensure herd immunity through large vaccination campaigns, child and pregnant women tracking, vaccination registries, routine vaccination promotion, campaign monitoring, community based Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance, cross-border immunization planning, and health education.

Evaluation:  The project tracks progress on key indicators in bi-annual 30 cluster surveys and data mined from detailed household vaccination registries maintained by each CHW.   With the active participation of one of our Indian CHWs, the project will present data on routine and campaign coverage and community based AFP surveillance.  For example, OPV3 coverage in the India target communities increased from 36% in 2010 to 87% in 2012 and 86% in 2014.  Angola and India have not had a case of wild polio virus since 2011 and Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya have successfully controlled the 2013 polio outbreak.  Nigeria has not had a case of polio since July 2014.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate the role of CHWs in increasing vaccination coverage for vulnerable populations Evaluate the impact of CHW interventions in vulnerable populations Identify the determinants of increased population immunity in target communities

Keyword(s): International MCH, International Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have 30 years of international development experience and 20 years of international health experience managing community health projects at various levels. I am the global Deputy Director of the CORE Group Polio Project and was previously the Angola Director. I have worked for WHO, CDC, the Peace Corps, CARE International, Save the Children, Mercy Corps, CRS, The Chicago Department of Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4366.0: Innovative evaluation methods, training programs, and interventions engaging the CHW workforce