TY - JOUR
T1 - The CORE group polio project's community volunteers and polio eradication in Ethiopia
T2 - Self-reports of their activities, knowledge, and contributions
AU - Asegedew, Bethelehem
AU - Tessema, Fasil
AU - Perry, Henry B.
AU - Bisrat, Filimona
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - In 2001, the CORE Group Polio Project (CGPP) began to support polio eradication initiatives in hard-toreach pastoralist and semi-pastoralist high-risk border areas of Ethiopia by training and supporting community volunteers (CVs) for immunization promotion and community-based surveillance activities. This article describes the development and current status of the CGPP CV network in Ethiopia. It also reports the results of a 2016 survey of CVs. Community volunteers are selected jointly by the local community, local government officials, and local health facility staff. They work closely with the health extension worker in their area and are responsible for 50-100 households. More than 12,000 CVs have been trained and have reached six million people. They make routine home visits to 1) provide education on vaccinepreventable diseases, 2) promote healthy behaviors, 3) inform parents on how to access immunization services, and 4) report cases of acute flaccid paralysis, neonatal tetanus, and measles as well as births. The 2016 survey of 675 CVs demonstrated that 84.1% had conducted home visits in the previous month to 1) identify and register pregnant mothers and newborns, 2) provide health education, 3) conduct disease surveillance, and 4) search for and register immunization defaulters. Of the CVs, 98.2% reported that their work had led to improvements in the community. Knowledge of CVs about vaccine-preventable diseases was suboptimal. CVs expressed a desire for more training. Community volunteers have made notable contributions to polio eradication efforts in high-risk areas of Ethiopia as well as to immunization promotion and disease control more broadly.
AB - In 2001, the CORE Group Polio Project (CGPP) began to support polio eradication initiatives in hard-toreach pastoralist and semi-pastoralist high-risk border areas of Ethiopia by training and supporting community volunteers (CVs) for immunization promotion and community-based surveillance activities. This article describes the development and current status of the CGPP CV network in Ethiopia. It also reports the results of a 2016 survey of CVs. Community volunteers are selected jointly by the local community, local government officials, and local health facility staff. They work closely with the health extension worker in their area and are responsible for 50-100 households. More than 12,000 CVs have been trained and have reached six million people. They make routine home visits to 1) provide education on vaccinepreventable diseases, 2) promote healthy behaviors, 3) inform parents on how to access immunization services, and 4) report cases of acute flaccid paralysis, neonatal tetanus, and measles as well as births. The 2016 survey of 675 CVs demonstrated that 84.1% had conducted home visits in the previous month to 1) identify and register pregnant mothers and newborns, 2) provide health education, 3) conduct disease surveillance, and 4) search for and register immunization defaulters. Of the CVs, 98.2% reported that their work had led to improvements in the community. Knowledge of CVs about vaccine-preventable diseases was suboptimal. CVs expressed a desire for more training. Community volunteers have made notable contributions to polio eradication efforts in high-risk areas of Ethiopia as well as to immunization promotion and disease control more broadly.
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U2 - 10.4269/ajtmh.18-1000
DO - 10.4269/ajtmh.18-1000
M3 - Article
C2 - 31760977
AN - SCOPUS:85072974203
SN - 0002-9637
VL - 101
SP - 45
EP - 51
JO - American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
JF - American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
IS - 4
ER -