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. 2014 Nov 1;210 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S118-24.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiu197.

Outreach to underserved communities in northern Nigeria, 2012-2013

Saheed O Gidado  1 , Chima Ohuabunwo  1 , Patrick M Nguku  1 , Ikechukwu U Ogbuanu  2 , Ndadilnasiya E Waziri  1 , Oladayo Biya  1 , Eric S Wiesen  2 , Adamma Mba-Jonas  2 , John Vertefeuille  2 , Akin Oyemakinde  3 , Okey Nwanyanwu  4 , Namadi Lawal  5 , Mustapha Mahmud  5 , Abdulsalami Nasidi  6 , Frank J Mahoney  2 ; N-STOP Outreach Team
Collaborators, Affiliations

Outreach to underserved communities in northern Nigeria, 2012-2013

Saheed O Gidado et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Persistent wild poliovirus transmission in Nigeria constitutes a major obstacle to global polio eradication. In August 2012, the Nigerian national polio program implemented a strategy to conduct outreach to underserved communities within the context of the country's polio emergency action plans.

Methods: A standard operating procedure (SOP) for outreach to underserved communities was developed and included in the national guidelines for management of supplemental immunization activities (SIAs). The SOP included the following key elements: (1) community engagement meetings, (2) training of field teams, (3) field work, and (4) acute flaccid paralysis surveillance.

Results: Of the 46,437 settlements visited and enumerated during the outreach activities, 8607 (19%) reported that vaccination teams did not visit their settlements during prior SIAs, and 5112 (11.0%) reported never having been visited by polio vaccination teams. Fifty-two percent of enumerated settlements (23,944) were not found in the existing microplan used for the immediate past SIAs.

Conclusions: During a year of outreach to >45,000 scattered, nomadic, and border settlements, approximately 1 in 5 identified were missed in the immediately preceding SIAs. These missed settlements housed a large number of previously unvaccinated children and potentially served as reservoirs for persistent wild poliovirus transmission in Nigeria.

Keywords: eradication; nomad; polio; settlement; underserved populations; wild poliovirus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. All authors: No reported conflicts.

All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Geographical location of high-priority local government areas where field outreach activities were conducted, Northern Nigeria, August 2012 to July 2013.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Geographical distribution of suspected cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and children who received no polio or routine immunization vaccines identified during field outreach, Northern Nigeria, August 2012 to July 2013.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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