Religious support persons receive training on polio eradication and are supervised by the provincial scholars’ taskforces. Workingas part of the union council polio eradication committees, they approach families who refuse immunization and local opinion formers to correct religious misconceptions and facilitate the vaccination of persistently missed children. At the same time, efforts are made to create demand among communities for routine immunization.
Furthermore, religious support persons are successfully assisting community-based polio vaccination programmes through the identification of female community volunteers in 8 high-risk union council localities in Karachi and identifying community health volunteers in culturally-sensitive union council localities in Quetta.
The National Islamic Advisory Group, which receives technical and financial support from WHO, continues to advocate with religious institutions and organizations for their engagement in polio eradication and immunization programmes. It does capacity-building of union council-level ulemas, facilitates the recording and broadcasting of messages by prominent ulemas at national, provincial and district levels, and engages with the editors and owners of religious publications.
The National Islamic Advisory Group and the provincial scholars’ taskforces will be making their services available at polio fixed sites during campaigns and at permanent centres for routine immunization.
Related links
Global Polio Eradication Initiative
