A champion of polio eradication.
"I like this work because it allows me to be useful to my community, while playing my part in eradicating polio and promoting essential family practices" Fatime Ousman, community relay in Abeche, eastern Chad.
Fatime, 32, is a mother of four. She is a technical health agent by training, and has been working as a community relay at the Salamat health center in the Abeche health district since 2019.
Fatime has been deeply involved in the fight against polio for several years. Her strong determination comes from meeting her former neighbor, whose child was a victim of polio. For 4 years, Fatime watched helplessly as the little girl was paralyzed for life by the disease.
''Today, she could have been having fun with her friends and riding her bike, if only her parents had vaccinated her'' Fatime regrets.
Fatime has since decided to take up the fight against polio. She joined the health center as a community relay to carry out communication activities with her community.
During every vaccination campaign, Fatime, equipped with her data collection forms, walks the streets of Abeche (capital of Ouaddai Province in eastern Chad) to inform families about the importance of vaccinating their children and to actively search for cases of Acute Flaccid Paralysis in children (AFP).
"My role as a community relay is to inform, guide and raise communities’ awareness on immunization, but also to convince those who are reluctant" Fatime explains.
"I like this work because it allows me to be useful to my community, while playing my part in eradicating polio and promoting essential family practices" she adds.
Fatime leads by example in her community: her children are all fully vaccinated. She also encourages women to attend health centers for their prenatal consultations, promotes breastfeeding, nutrition, and personal hygiene through educational health animations using picture boxes.
Fatime's dream is to see polio eliminated from Chad. And to successfully lead this fight, she can count on her husband’s support: he assists her in awareness activities with community and religious leaders and takes care of the children in her absence.
With funding from Gavi, UNICEF supports the Ministry of Public Health and Prevention of Chad in the fight against Polio by supplying vaccines, transportation equipment, and training community relays for awareness raising and vaccination.
