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94% of women in Uzbekistan aged 12–14 are actually coated with a primary dose of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, in accordance with the nation’s Ministry of Well being. The HPV vaccine was first launched into the nationwide immunization plan in 2019, with the assistance of WHO and UNICEF, with the intention to defend women within the nation towards creating cervical most cancers.
With the assistance of WHO and UNICEF, the nation developed a communication plan, which was one of many keys to the profitable vaccine rollout. Formative analysis was carried out prematurely, however it was by means of ongoing monitoring of the native state of affairs that issues had been noticed and measures had been taken to maintain the rollout on monitor.
“The Nationwide Immunization Programme (NIP) was in a position to conduct ongoing monitoring of vaccine uptake to right away establish the place there was a crucial drawback after which use all avenues to handle it,” says Sahil Warsi, a Marketing consultant with Vaccine-preventable Ailments and Immunization (VPI) at WHO/Europe, who supplied help to nationwide counterparts to develop and implement the communication plan.
When numbers began dropping in a single college within the capital, Tashkent, a parent-teacher assembly was organized beneath the NIP. Well being care employees had been invited to handle questions regarding misinformation circulating concerning the vaccine on social media. These interventions had been potential because of monitoring, good planning, and having a disaster communication plan.
Face-to-face conferences with dad and mom had been very efficient, in accordance with the WHO Uzbekistan group. Each concern that oldsters had was answered by consultants with information, examples, and research. After listening to this data, dad and mom needed not solely their very own baby to be vaccinated however as many youngsters as potential.
Speaking in a disaster
Situations corresponding to this draw consideration to the necessity for communication planning, and particularly disaster communication. On the time of the HPV rollout in Uzbekistan, web protection was restricted to city areas, however social media nonetheless had an impression. “The response to the social media occasion was a studying expertise,” Sahil explains. “The secret’s having well being care employees and influential folks prepared and outfitted with the right data to reply when misinformation spreads, and them understanding how and the place to signpost it.”
WHO supplied help in organizing coaching classes for tv, radio, and print journalists earlier than the beginning of the vaccine rollout. The goal of the coaching was to supply media channels with all of the related data journalists wanted on the HPV vaccine, and to produce them with an inventory of individuals they might interview and from whom they might collect extra data.
Nevertheless, whereas analysis has discovered that it is very important equip a rustic’s media and to answer occasions on social media, international analysis additionally reveals that, in the long run, folks are likely to say ‘I don’t belief the media, I belief my physician’. Subsequently, the main focus needs to be on participating and informing these figures of authority who folks belief and switch to for dependable data. In Uzbekistan, these included ministers, heads of municipalities, well being care employees, lecturers and non secular leaders.
Educating key goal teams
Bringing all of the stakeholders collectively to talk with one voice was one of many key components for the success of the HPV vaccine programme in Uzbekistan. Academics had been focused for coaching as they’re well-respected members of the neighborhood, with about half 1,000,000 lecturers offering schooling to greater than 6 million college students, 50% of whom are women. One instructor in Tashkent famous “we write quizzes and discuss with college students about vaccination. We additionally attempt to clarify to oldsters in an easy means that vaccination is supposed to save lots of their baby from catching a illness, to stop it.”
This is without doubt one of the key constructive messages promoted in the course of the HPV vaccination marketing campaign in Uzbekistan, the place the main focus of messaging was not on sexual and reproductive well being, however on selling wholesome lives and defending the opportunity of future motherhood for ladies. Efforts had been undertaken to teach dad and mom and grandparents and to handle any considerations they’d round vaccine security, with the intention to encourage widespread HPV vaccine uptake.
Uzbekistan is collaborating with WHO to introduce HPV screening on the nationwide degree alongside HPV vaccination. As one of many companion nations of the WHO international name for motion to get rid of cervical most cancers, the nation hopes to develop into a regional benchmark for accelerating the elimination of cervical most cancers by implementing important elements of the regional roadmap.
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