Polio Eradication

Mahamat Nadjib, Abderahim SalehDr. Mahamat Nadjib Abderahim, teacher-researcher at the Institut National Supérieur des Sciences et Techniques d'Abéché (INSTA). He holds a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, a Master's degree and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Tours, France. He is a specialist in Health Promotion.

The objective of this study was to identify the obstacles and levers to polio eradication strategies in developing countries and then to analyze, through a questionnaire, the knowledge, attitudes and practices of parents of children aged 0 to 5 years in Chad with respect to polio vaccination. The most frequently cited obstacles were the refusal to vaccinate, insecurity and armed conflict, which make access to children difficult and encourage the circulation of the poliovirus. The survey of 210 parents revealed that none of the families had an immunization record for their children. However, 97% reported having children who had participated in mass immunization campaigns. Nearly 97% were aware of polio and 98% had heard of the vaccination campaigns. This work identified several barriers and levers to polio eradication. In Chad, knowledge about the disease and the vaccine is good despite the existence of rumors about the side effects of vaccines. However, the absence of a vaccination record limited the analysis of the survey results, which were only reported.