Outbreaks often cause panic among the affected population. A good understanding of the community’s perception of measles and vaccination, being aware of specific groups, and meeting with community leaders is necessary for tailoring the operational response (surveillance, management, and vaccination campaign), the public messaging, and the social mobilisation essential to the campaign’s success. Information is disseminated as soon as the outbreak is confirmed.
Community engagement (a way of working that prioritises community participation) should be considered for all these activities.
4.5.1 Coordination/organisation
Health promotion is coordinated between the administrative and health officials, leaders, and partners. It includes an analysis of the social context, surveillance, health education, mobilisation, and engagement with community networks.
Vaccination campaigns require involvement from all sectors. Messages are transmitted in a variety of settings (health centres/hospitals, schools, public places, places of worship, etc.).
The team responsible for raising awareness is composed of one person who is in charge and community liaisons or community health workers. The person in charge acts as the liaison between the mobilisers and the other stakeholders.
4.5.2 The role of community health workers
The community health workers’ role is to:
- Participate in community-based surveillance and active case-finding
- Facilitate case management via health education in health care facilities and communities
- Conduct mobilisation activities for vaccination campaigns:
- A few days before the campaign, they:
- Identify and contact influential people to inform them
- Visit the neighbourhoods/communes and organise discussions to raise the public’s awareness of the importance of vaccination
- Disseminate the messages as widely as possible (megaphone, radio or other)
- During the campaign, they:
- Continue awareness-raising activities, especially in areas of low vaccination coverage
- Visit neighbourhoods encouraging families to take their children to the nearest sites
- Answer any questions
- Advise families to finish the whole immunisation schedule at the health care facilities after the campaign
- Report on their activities and any difficulties encountered
- After the campaign, they:
- Report on the strengths and weaknesses of their activities and any difficulties encountered.
- A few days before the campaign, they:
4.5.3 Mobilisation for the vaccination campaign
Messages should contain only the essential points (Appendix 12):
- What: treatment for measles patients and measles vaccination
- Why: outbreak
- When: dates
- Where: vaccination locations
- For whom: age groups affected
It may be necessary to adapt the messages, for example, to raise awareness among a group opposed to vaccination or if there are persistent fears or rumours (about harmful effects of vaccines, vaccines poisoning children, etc.).
Depending on the context (urban or rural), cultural habits and available resources, town criers, griots, local personalities, religious or association leaders, radio, TV and text messaging may be used.