KG Suresh
In March 2014, India was certified polio-free by an independent commission under the World Health Organisation certification process. It was in January 2012 that India achieved a major milestone in the fight against polio when for the first time, the country interrupted polio virus for one complete year. Barely six years back prior to this, we had the dubious distinction of having 66 per cent of polio cases globally.
The achievement was not a cakewalk. Behind it lay the sheer perseverance and hard work of thousands of strategists, Government officials, health workers, private practitioners, NGOs and the media.
While Governments have been at the receiving end of criticism for all welfare programmes, the polio eradication programme was one where even the international agencies lauded the role played by and the commitment of both the national and State Governments. From the Anganwadi worker to the district administrations and the top most bureaucrats in the health departments of both the Central and State Governments, polio eradication remained a priority area.
It was not less than on a war scale that the battle against the paralysing disease was fought. Posters, banners, balloons, handbills, public announcements, awareness campaigns in schools and educational institutions and celebrities including the Big B appealing to the masses to give them ‘do boond zindagi ki’ persuaded even the illiterate and reluctant parents to get their kids vaccinated.
There were hurdles. Superstitions, myths and conspiracy theories were circulated and fanned with support even from sections of the media. Counter strategies were drawn up by reaching out to clerics and even local Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs or quacks) turning them into influensers. Then there was the issue of dealing with migrant and nomadic populations, fears of importation from neighbouring countries such as Pakistan, which were endemic and occasionally, resistance from people on developmental issues.
In fact, institutions such as the Aligarh Muslim University became role models with regard to community outreach programmes. In 2009, of the 17 cases reported from Aligarh, 16 belonged to the minority community. AMU faculty and students joined hands to tackle this menace head on. The university’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College reoriented medical education with high emphasis on community medicine while the social work department made polio eradication programme part and parcel of its field work activities. Other departments organised street plays and poster painting and debate competitions in local Government schools to create awareness. The head Qazi and the Imam of the Idgah were roped in as influensers.
In Bulandshahr, another high risk area, the district administration innovatively utilised family occasions such as ‘godh bharai’ (baby shower) and the child’s first birthday to spread awareness about the disease and its consequences.
And a silent partner in this massive operation was the media, which played a crucial role in creating awareness in the society on the issue. Since most of the incidents were reported from the smaller towns and rural areas, the regional or language media contributed immensely to the success of this programme.
While on the one hand, the media carried out an educational campaign against the misconceptions about the vaccine, particularly among the high risk communities, on the other, it highlighted lapses on the part of the administration with regard to the programme.
Sections of the Urdu media, particularly in western Uttar Pradesh, were initially opposed to the vaccination programme. In fact, some of them played mischief and added fuel to the propaganda that the vaccine led to infertility and was part of a larger conspiracy to control the population of a particular community. The propaganda or rumours spread by vested interests and some uneducated clergy even opposed the vaccine on the grounds that it was allegedly produced in the US, which was ‘exterminating’ members of the community in Iraq and Afghanistan.
However, thanks to the efforts and perseverance of communications specialists at the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, India Country Office and local influencers, including enlightened Imams of mosques, such publications were won over with reason and logic and some of them were even turned into effective influensers.
In fact, in some districts of western Uttar Pradesh as also West Bengal, where the last polio case was reported, some media persons even accompanied local health officials and NGOs to resistant neighbourhoods and helped in persuading them to take their children to the nearest polio booth.
However, while reporting on such challenging health issues, it is important that the media persons are sensitised about the issue. There have also been instances where well meaning media persons reported on ‘detection’ of polio cases which were later found to be untrue.
A proper dissemination of information pertaining to the problem would have taught the reporter concerned that a polio case is established only after examination of stool sample by a plethora of WHO approved laboratories across the country. There have also been cases where instances of Acute Flaccid Paralysis with symptoms similar to polio were reported as polio.
Unfortunately and increasingly, media has been strident in reporting any adverse outcome of health programmes based on limited research evidence or falsified data. It has been observed that either paucity of time or an inherent drawback in the training of journalists to understand scientific evidence has had a moribund effect on the quality of health reporting. How media reports has a significant impact on policymaking and health funding and programme initiatives for reducing health burden in the country.
As the country unveils ambitious plans such as universal immunisation and Swachch Bharat including toilets for all, it is important that public health communication is integrated into the course curriculum in media schools across the country and working journalists too are sensitised through orientation and training workshops.
Recently, the first-of-its-kind ‘Critical Appraisal Skills Programme’ course certificate in public health journalism and communication was awarded to 40 budding media professionals from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication.
Conceptualised by Unicef, the CASP was designed in partnership with the University of Oxford, Thomson Reuters Foundation, George Institute of Global Health and adapted by IIMC in India. The course is a skill-building initiative for media professionals, and offers a unique opportunity to specialise in evidence-based reportage on public health issues.