PCI: Celebrating 50 Years of Positive Community Impact


PCI's Disease Prevention Programs



Core Group Polio Project The Child Survival Collaboration and Resources group (The CORE Group), a network of over 50 US-based organizations working in community-driven health and development, joined the Polio Eradication Initiative in 1999 under the CORE Group flagship. PCI, a key ally of this group internationally, actively supported Core Group Polio Project‘s (CGPP’s) interventions in India through its Country office, PCI India. Despite missing the year 2000 target, between 2000 and 2001, India was able to restrict the number of polio cases to around two hundred as compared to 5,000 cases a decade ago. It suffered a major blow to its efforts due to a cyclical resurgence of poliomyelitis in 2002. The country ended the year with 1,613 children affected and paralyzed. The vast majority of cases - 80% - occurred in UP. The state reported more polio cases than any country in the world. Persistent transmission of the virus in UP and Bihar are major contributing factor in high number of polio cases in the country. Since the inception of the program there has been a dramatic decline in number of paralytic poliomyelitis cases from 740 wild polio virus (WPV) cases in 2009 to 42 cases in 2010. The P2 strain was eradicated in 1999 and both the P1 and P3 strains also appear to be on their last leg with just a single case reported so far in 2011. This encouraging trend is attributed to the quality of Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIAs) and mop-up campaigns targeting migratory populations at different sites, including railway stations, bus stops, construction site, and slums. Engagement of local doctors, religious leaders, and other key community members plays a pivotal role in increasing the reach of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to underserved communities in the country. PCI’s communication strategy, in conjunction with the CGPP, addresses these social and contextual ground realities. PCI believes in strengthening government’s initiatives on immunization through addressing the gaps with regard to (a) reaching the high risk groups, (b) missed children tracking, (c) health system’s capacities to deliver immunization program and (d) community demand generation. PCI has gained technical expertise and excellence to deliver on these above mentioned areas through its immunization programs in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, for more than a decade. Currently, PCI is working in twenty four blocks/ planning units of Uttar Pradesh’s three districts: Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Moradabad, reaching out to over four million populations through local NGO partners such as Adarsh Seva Samiti, Mahila Jagriti Sewa Samiti, Jan Kalyan Samiti and Society for All Round Development. These districts of western Uttar Pradesh (UP) are considered as one of the most challenging polio eradication grounds in the world. A total of 298 high-risk areas (HRA) fall under PCI’s area of intervention, of which 298 are covered through community mobilization coordinators (CMC), a grass roots-level worker of the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI). PCI has implemented techniques such as routine immunization campaigns, hygiene and sanitation drives, school and madrassas education programs with active collaboration of the local and state government departments, NGOs and CBOs. PCI has also maintaining a strong community based management information systems for missed children tracking and has built capacities of numerous healthcare workers including ASHA and Aanganwadi Workers (AWW) to strengthen outreach and monitoring. Further, PCI has been able to demonstrate best practices for converting resistant families through innovative techniques and involvement of religious groups. PCI has been able to successfully address health systems issues such as manpower shortage through various approaches including advocacy with state and district health machinery.

PCI's Disease Prevention Programs