Senegal

Real lives

A day in the life of a polio vaccinator

© UNICEF Senegal/2004

Sidy tries to cheer a child up so that he can vaccinate her

In October 2004, Africa kicked off its largest-ever polio campaign. More than one million vaccinators and volunteers went door-to-door in 23 sub-Saharan countries with one goal: to immunize a targeted 80 million children against the deadly disease. The following is an diary entry by Sidy Siby of Senegal describing his day working as a polio vaccinator.

NIAGA, Senegal, 2 December 2004 - My name is Sidy Siby and I am 39 years old. My wife and I live in the village of Niaga, District of Rufisque.

The Health Post of Niaga chose me to become a vaccinator, because I have some background and knowledge in immunization that I have obtained at a science and research centre. Every time there is a vaccination campaign, they will always call me in to help.

© UNICEF Senegal/2004

Sidy gives polio vaccine to this 2-day-old baby in the village of Niaga Peul

Besides being a vaccinator during the immunization days, I am involved in improving maternal health for our community, and I also work as an educator for HIV and AIDS.

Today we are visiting 3 villages. The first stop is Niaga Niassene, then to a village along the side of the ‘Lac Rose’ (Pink Lake), and finally onto Niaga Peul, a village with about 500 inhabitants. Most of the residents in this region rely heavily on agriculture, salt extraction and tourism for a living.

Before we set out on our way, the vaccination team is called in for instruction. We are divided into six different teams, and each team is assigned to cover specific villages. We will check the quality symbols on the vaccine and fill each vaccinator’s box with ice to keep the vaccines cold.

© UNICEF Senegal/2004

The horse carriage takes vaccinator Sidy and his team from village to village

Our transportation is horse carriage. The villages are very sparsely populated. At the moment, there are six vaccination teams for about 8,000 inhabitants. In four vaccination days, we should have no problem covering them. This year we have more vaccinators than last year, which provides us an opportunity to pay more attention to every child. When you are in a hurry and you come across a case of refusal, you might think, “Well…forget about it.” Today, we can take our time in educating the people about polio.

At Niaga Niassene, we encountered an elderly man who refused to have his children vaccinated. After listening to our careful, patient explanation, he fully opened up and welcomed us to give polio vaccines to his children. Fatou, my assistant, filled out the immunization card and handed it to the children after they were immunized. I like to work with her because she is competent and takes her job very seriously.

If a child is absent, we will note it down and ask the mother when we can return. We also go and vaccinate children at the Koran schools. We’ll inquire if the child is a student, and then we’ll go and vaccinate there. If the child has gone out in the bush with his dad, we ask for an appointment and come back the next day.

After visiting the three villages, and having immunized about 60 children against polio, Fatou and I are on our way back to the Health Post. It feels rewarding just thinking of the children who are now free from polio paralysis.

Arriving at the Health Post, we will chat with other teams and exchange experiences. We will then have some refreshments together before heading home.

We are paid 2500 CFA per day (about $5). Even if we weren’t paid, we would still choose to be vaccinators. It is our duty to kick this terrible illness out of our community and out of the continent!

 

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