How fear of oral polio vaccine was overcome in India

Well-planned and implemented communication is an important component of limiting the spread of rumours, preventing a crisis or bringing a crisis under control.

Click on the link to read an article from the Deccan Herald of India, dated 14 December 2008, of how rumours circulating in India that OPV caused impotency were overcome by effective communication strategies. The article was written by Gitanjali Chaturvedi, who was then the Communication Consultant for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Notice how the design of the communication plan:

• Took account of the special features of the main target audience in India – the Muslim community,
• Used examples of positive experience in Islamic countries that had already eradicated polio.

Article: Fear of Polio Drops Overcome