What journalists in Agra and Aligarh said

Since Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran andHindustanare the major media players in both districts, health reporters and correspondents were met. Most viewed the programme with distrust; said over-reporting, fudging of booth coverage figures was high. Medical officers are unable to give convincing answers why multiple doses are needed; guarantee that multiple doses will not be harmful. Some said govt officials are unable to explain why numbers are on the rise. The global/ national perspective is clearly lacking among the media. Most reporting is on programmatic issues such as corruption. Public consciousness and ownership is low and media can play a critical role in addressing that.

Chief Reporter, Dainik Jagran, Agra said as editors they ensure misleading reports do not get published but sometimes these go unchecked. He suggested a media workshop where we write to editors and ask them to depute 2 people from the organisation to come to the event. On the programme front he said the problem is that illiteracy is high. Some 50-60 families or a population of 1,000 continue to be resistant. These same people when they go for Haj will take the vaccine. Corruption is high within the programme. Any such programme/ scheme should be time- bound. What is the reason that targets are not met.

Health correspondent, Amar Ujala, Agra said rising number of cases is cause for concern and greater public awareness is needed. People are asking why are so many doses needed. It is very good to have a media workshop on polio – one on swine flu was held recently, she said.

Correspondent Hindustan,Agra said there is over reporting in booth figures. Polio is now it is being linked with development issues and there is fatigue among people. He said the newspaper is careful negative rumour-reports from villages don’t get published.

In Aligarh, Hindustan Times correspondent said no one can give satisfactory answers: Why resistant families have no cases while immunized children are getting infected. “What does it mean if a child immunized 16-19 times is infected — either figures are fudged or the vaccine is not effective. Now even doctors are asking if we give or not give the polio drops,” he said.

Health correspondent, Dainik Jagran, said resistance is strong with even literate people now opposing. Why 5 years and 40 doses are needed; are you sure vaccine will not harm, even doctors are now asking. Also, since polio is the only programme where ‘field staff request and don’t threaten’, it is being used for development issues. In a recent round, 8-10 villages refused and relented only when they got assurance from the district administration. Polio eradication has to be done fast otherwise this problem of blackmail will only increase, he said. When a negative incident happens, the newspaper gives the family’s claim. Given that this is a very communal city, and also densely populated it does not take very long for an issue to get blown out of proportion and this leads to incidents of violence. On the programme front, he said corruption rate is very high.

 

AMU as a polio partner

According to chairman, social work department, majority of people are refusing the drops because they are in bargain mode. Sometimes the child is sick, or sometimes there are myths and misconceptions to address. When a child death happens there is negative media reportage. Given the high credibility of AMU as an institution, their social work students are able to play a critical role in pre-round activities. They also persuade in the light of religious instruction. Post-round, medical interns go where needed – such as in homes where children are sick or there are concerns if drops can harm in any way.

The chairman social work said AMU values this partnership with Unicef immensely as their students get an opportunity to work in the field; their work is regarded as part of academic curricula. The VC has played a very active role. Three years ago the University was awarded the prestigious Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award in recognition of its community service and polio-eradication programme.

The community medicine department also runs two health clinics in Jeevangarh and Mahfoos Nagar. According to Mohd Atharansari, Chairman, community medicine, who has seen the polio programme over 15 years says earlier people would refuse to open door, say there are no children. It has changed a lot since then. Intensive intervention has helped succeeded. Resistance is now at its minimum. Earlier there was violence, now there is fatigue with people asking why are drops needed each time. Challenges are that community living conditions are so bad, health services are extremely poor and civic services such as water supply, drainage, roads are non-existent in some of the areas. An integrated approach is needed, and strengthening RI is critical, he said. 2009 has been very disheartening, he said, with 26 cases inAligarh.

Facel contamination of drinking water is a major problem. (There are areas with mpl more than 180. mpl more than 10 is considered unfit for drinking. mpl — most probable number). Handpumps are shallow water is impure. Other challenges are health care providers at the grassroot level are not fully convinced, and the media gives misleading and incomplete information.

Mobile communities in Aligarh

We went to Gonda Block to see a nomadic site. Zubeida said the nomads keep moving constantly and don’t leave any tell-tale signs of where they went. They often give misleading information and are afraid of authorities. It is difficult to make out religion, tribe etc.

There was one large extended family – 25 odd adults and 10 children. Their tents are black plastic sheets, inside is a caned bed, bedding, some pots and pans, some trunks. They keep goats and hens. Women wear long skirts and chunky jewellery and have a distinct accent of their own. They said one son is away to the village and will return in a day or two with another 4 children in the 0-5 age group. This family said they Lohar – ironsmiths — from Chittoragarh, Rajasthan and have been here for generations.

Health workers say they don’t face resistance with these people – the challenge is in reaching out to them, ensuring no one gets missed.

Next, we visited a brick kiln site where labour was fromGaya,Bihar. The settlement has about 80 adults and 45 children, including 2 newborns in the last month. The labour comes in September and stay till June, before the onset of monsoon. Kiln owners prefer migrant labour who lives onsite since the cost of labour is cheaper, and they are able to work long hours. Both men and women work. Couples bring with them only small children who cannot be left behind. Their houses are dark windowless airless made of brick and plastered with mud.

One woman, barely 20, who’s child is a  month old says she was back at work 8 days after delivery. Giving the baby an oil massage in the morning sun, she says this is her third daughter pointing to two girls who look 3 and 5.

Fighting fatigue

Heath workers says there is a sense of fatigue among people, it’s been so many years, when is the polio rounds going to end they ask. Nisha says among the high risk areas they work in 90 per cent pf the people are Muslim. Much work is being done with imams and religious leaders. The masjid also urges people to come to the booth. In addition, many of the areas are underlying there is a lot if problem of water logging and bad drainage. Teenage marriage is common. Many mothers are with 2 children under 1.

CMCs say there is fatigue to some level. Sometimes, people suspect why the govt is so keen on this when it does not give attention to many other pressing issues. One CMC says, “Women say – there is the polio booth; if you miss that, then come to your house. They catch you on trains and rickshaws. If you refuse, they will bring a doctor, or a leader or some very important person to your house. Why is the govt so eager for this alone? How come the same doesn’t happen for anything else?”

CMCs says there are been an increase in acceptance level among Muslims and religious leaders have played a critical role. Masjids are giving ailaan, and imams are urging people to adopt this practice in the takreer or religious instruction. Now the issue is not so much the sterility myth but civic issues such as health, sanitation problems in the community. In most cases, resistance is in families where a child has died either in the family or neighbourhood around the time of vaccination and they have attributed it to the vaccine. That is the main fear. Sometimes people use it like a bargain tool. People excluded from civic services think this is one way to get the attention of the district administration. “People think we have direct access to administration so they tell us their problems. We can help/ advise but it is not possible to intervene directly,” says a healthworker.

Rallying for Do Boond

The rally is a complete bore. Waste of time and money. And yet a good photo opp. In this programme there is zilch people’s participation. Why. It is all put on. In reality, there is nothing. Everything in name– v Sarkari. You compare it to other programmes. Involvement of civil society experts ngos etc. how much do people community see it as their concern. Strange v strange, haven’t been able to figure it out as yet. Why else would there still be refusal. Partners don’t want the limelight at all, approach is one of fear.

The whole problem here is that it is seen as sarkari, the govts. Why are partnerships multiple stakeholders not encouraged promoted. You make something sarkari  and it loses its luster. It is viewed w the same cynicism as we view everything else that is sarkari. The other people step back. Your job to build roads, you build them. But if I have to live w bad roads I just grin and bear. Because I have no faith in the system

There is this new campaign – not every child but my child. V dumb. So that means if you don’t have a child 0-5 it is not your business. Just when we should be saying its everyone’s problem, everyone should be concerned.

What I don’t like about the rally – they are people who have to be there, no choice. V tokenistic.imagine putting 2 polio-affected people on 1 wheelchair. They’ll probably be given some carrot to be there. That is the dignity offered. And they will always be men. Children hold banners they can v likely not read, much less know what it means. All the jing bang are vacc etc who have to be there, no choice. As one journo said it goes through the most influential part of the city bec that is the easiest. Why doesn’t it go elsewhere. Uncreative unimaginative. Why do they do that

Ask someone this for some insight: why is the rally as bad as it is

And yet it becomes the photo opp. Can we provide better more interesting photo ops.

For too long the symbol is the child face and the vaccine vial, mouth open wide to receive the drops. While it is important to retain that it is also important to create new symbols and images people can relate to.

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