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Iraq polio campaign, May 2014: intra- and post-campaign monitoring reports
Baghdad, Iraq, May 2014 – Following the April 2014 national polio campaign in Iraq, the WHO Iraq country office and Ministry of Health of Iraq produced a report on polio intra- and post-campaign monitoring during the round of national immunization days in May 2014.
Fifty-nine districts in 19 provinces were surveyed during intra-campaign monitoring. One hundred and twenty surveyors worked over four days to survey a total of 10 758 children under five and 7289 households. The results of the intra-campaign monitoring found:
- 406 population areas (one or more households) were missed during the polio campaign.
- 3 districts reported less than 80% polio immunization coverage.
- 56 districts reported greater than 80% polio immunization coverage.
- 44 districts reported greater than 90% polio immunization coverage.
The Iraqi Red Crescent Society, supported by the WHO Iraq country office, conducted a post-campaign monitoring survey to determine routine and campaign polio immunization coverage. One hundred and twenty surveyors worked over three days to survey a total of 3595 children under five and 2326 households in 19 provinces and 57 districts.
The results of the survey found:
- Reported immunization coverage in the polio campaign in May was 92.0%.
- Eight districts in four provinces reported less than 80% polio immunization coverage.
- Children were more likely to be vaccinated if their household had prior awareness of the campaign.
- Polio immunization coverage, by recall, was equitable according to household socioeconomic index.
Recommendations
Recommendations included to:
- review programming in eight districts reported to have less than 80% campaign immunization coverage.
- encourage adoption of finger marking across all governorates as a gold standard of assessing polio campaign coverage.
- continue pre-campaign awareness-raising of polio to increase participation and immunization coverage.
- strengthen routine immunization and ensure equity according to geographic area and household socioeconomic index.
- conduct intra- and post-campaign monitoring in Mada’in district of Baghdad-Resafa sector, where a second case of polio was confirmed in April 2014, if access and the security situation permits.
However, the two polio intra- and post campaigns were concluded with the following findings:
- National polio immunization coverage following the May 2014 campaign is high and equitable across household socioeconomic quintiles.
- Eight districts in four provinces reported less than 80% polio campaign coverage.
- Household awareness of the May 2014 national polio campaign was high with most household information received from the Ministry of Health or television/radio.
- Household awareness of the May 2014 national polio campaign significantly increased campaign participation and child vaccination.
- Nearly half of children missed by the April 2014 national polio campaign were not visited by a vaccination team.
- Routine immunization is low and inequitable (the poorest households have lower rates of routine immunization than the least poor).
- May 2014 documented routine immunization coverage which estimates are lower than those reported in April 2014 because they are calculated against the whole population of under five surveyed children, not just those who have a vaccination card.
Report on polio intra-campaign monitoring
Report on polio post-campaign monitoring
For more information, contact:
Ms Ajyal Sultany, Communication Office (+964)7809-269-506
Ministry of Health of Iraq celebrates completion of leadership and management development programme
Erbil, Iraq, 17 April 2014 – The Ministry of Health of Iraq, at both the federal and Kurdistan regional levels, with the support of the World Health Organization and International Council of Nurses (ICN), celebrated completion of a one-year comprehensive “Leadership and management development programme for nursing, midwifery, and allied health leaders and managers” from all governorates of Iraq.
The celebration was attended by senior officials from the federal and Kurdistan region Ministry of Health, professional unions, directors of hospitals and a total of 41 nursing, midwifery and allied health leaders, and managers representing various Ministry of Health departments at both national and subnational levels from all the 18 governorates of Iraq. Out of 41 graduates, 18 were selected based on specific ICN criteria to participate in a 3-day intensive training of trainers workshop. The 18 trainers, upon successful completion of the training requirements, will be given a certificate by the ICN and they will be entitled as ICN certified trainers for Iraq.
“Nursing leadership and management development has been identified as one of the priority areas in the current biennium (2014–2015) joint programme of work between the Ministry of Health of Iraq and WHO,” said Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative and Head of Mission for Iraq. Dr Hussain added that nursing and midwifery development requires collaborative action by governments and the public and health care providers, including members of the nursing, midwifery and other health professions.
WHO Iraq, in collaboration with the nursing and allied health programme of the WHO Regional Office for Eastern Mediterranean and the ICN, embarked on a comprehensive leadership and management development programme for nurses, midwives and allied health workers in early 2013 with the financial support of the European Commission (EC).
Since its inception, this comprehensive leadership for change programme (LFC) has been implemented in more than 60 countries globally and in 9 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The aim of the programme is to better equip nurses, midwives at senior and middle level in Iraq with necessary knowledge and skills for effective management of health services, as well as to enhance their contribution to national health development. The programme for change will also enable nurses, midwives and allied health workers to carry forward strategic and operational initiatives related to effective health services management which will lead to tangible improvements in the quality of services and will help nurses and midwives to meet the current and emerging critical challenges facing the health sector.
The programme was planned to be implemented in three phases. The first phase took place in Erbil from 21 to 25 April 2013. The second phase took place from 3 to 7 November, 2013. The third phase took place in Erbil from 13 to 17 April 2014 after agreement with the Ministry of Health at central and regional levels.
The programme has been found extremely useful by all participants. The new knowledge and action learning enabled the participants to influence policy and health system developments, lead the change for bringing positive changes in their work settings and be better contributors to health care team.
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WHO Iraq conducts awareness-raising sessions on AFP surveillance
Baghdad, Iraq, 15 April 2014 – In line with its response to the polio outbreak in Iraq, the World Health Organization conducted two awareness-raising sessions on acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance for national surveillance officers from 17 governorates.
The first session was held in the Royal Tulip Hotel in Baghdad on 13 April 2014 and was attended by 30 participants. Both sessions were facilitated by Dr Tarek Elseyed, Polio Medical Officer in the WHO Regional Office in Cairo, Egypt.
In the first session, the AFP case and its different diagnosis were defined, emphasizing the importance of AFP early reporting and the steps that should be taken afterwards. It also approached the reverse cold chain, the different surveillance indicators and their interpretations, and the importance of a highly-sensitive AFP surveillance system for the eradication of poliomyelitis.
On 14 April, a second session was held at the Ministry of Health in Baghdad with the attendance of 27 participants who were medical officers, mainly pediatricians, working in a number of hospitals in Baghdad in addition to surveillance focal points from different health sectors in the governorate. This session was important for Baghdad given the fact that it represents a high-risk area concerning the circulation of the wild virus, in addition to the fact that the only polio case in the country was reported from Baghdad, Rasafa sector. The session was further attended by the national Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) manager and was carried out in an interactive way. All attendees requested WHO to support awareness raising sessions regularly specially during the national immunization days and subnational immunization days.
WHO, the Ministry of Health and UNICEF in Iraq concluded a nationwide polio vaccination campaign, the first since a case of polio was confirmed by the Iraqi Ministry of Health in Baghdad on 30 March 2014 after 14 years of polio free declaration.
The campaign was extended for four more days in governorates of Diwaniya, Duhok, and Najaf to conclude activities on 14 April 2014. Field independent monitoring activities started as well and will last for the coming four days, implemented by WHO through recruited teams from the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS).
However, the nationwide immunization rounds were scheduled to cover all parts of Iraq; WHO collaborative response to the outbreak is meant to reach the millions of vulnerable children under the age of 5 years.
For more information, please contact:
Ms Ajyal Sultany, Communications Officer, (+964)7809-269-506,
Ms Wasan Al Tamimi, Program Officer, (+964) 7809-269-512 ,
