Study on effectiveness of pulse polio programme: With respect to social marketing techniques

Abstract

The Pulse polio program has been highly successful in consistently attaining near 100% coverage and a very high degree of social mobilization and community involvement. Despite the success of the program, there are bottlenecks in the system and there is a lot to be desired in terms of improving execution efficiency. This study aims to identify such bottlenecks, areas of improvement, the pain points and the motivations of the key players involved in the program. Pulse Polio Immunization (PPI) Programme was started nation-wide from 1995. Till 1998-99, two rounds used to be organized in the month of December and January each year. From 1999-2000 house to house vaccination of missed children was also introduced to vaccinate children missed during the fixed booth based vaccination of children. Several Information, Education and Communication (IEC) initiatives are taken by the Ministry of Health for immunization programs such as Pulse Polio Immunization. The initiatives include an integrated IEC for consistent communication and content delivery. Karnataka is a polio-free state since 2004 except for one case reported in 2007.