A milestone in Madura

As 2023 was coming to a close, one family’s life took a tragic turn. A young child in the Central Java province of Indonesia – who had just returned from visiting Madura in the East Java province – contracted polio. The case led to outbreak responses in both provinces, and a race against time to vaccinate millions of children and prevent the debilitating disease from spreading.

The Ministry of Health mounted a rapid polio outbreak response in a first round of vaccination in January 2024, working closely with the provincial and district governments of East and Central Java and Sleman (DIY), with support from UNICEF and WHO.

In Madura island, which has a much lower vaccination rate than other areas in East Java, large teams of health care workers were mobilized to fan out across communities. They knew they would face fear and reluctance due to concerns about potential adverse events following immunization and the spread of misinformation.

To boost the response, the government in all four regencies in Madura and the city of Surabaya jointly made a “Madura 100%” declaration – a bold commitment to achieve one hundred percent immunization coverage in the first round of vaccination.

In just two weeks, the campaign target was accomplished, with 8.7 million children  immunized across 74 districts in Central Java, East Java and Sleman DIY (as of 29 January).

The success of the campaign in Madura is credited to advocacy, communication and social mobilization efforts from many quarters. Several influencers used their platforms to underscore the importance of immunization and share information about vaccination sites. Local companies invested financially in the campaign.

Speaking at the Madura 100% ceremony, Ronny Chandra, one of the leaders of CEO Jatim, an organization made up of CEOs of 200 major companies in East Java, underscored what was at stake.

“Madura has to address many socio-economic challenges. One in five of its population live in poverty, eight per cent are unemployed. Polio spread will only make this worse. We must get rid of polio once and for all,” he said.  

The media also played a key role in the campaign. UNICEF and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) supported a major effort to sensitize local journalists about polio, the significance of immunization and the crucial need to combat misinformation and hoaxes that have contributed to vaccine hesitancy.

“I heard about immunization from the news, from the media, including the dangers of polio,” said a mother from the Bangkalan regency. “Then from there, I wanted to immunize my child.”

Siti, a healthcare worker who is accustomed to facing apprehension about vaccines in Bangkalan, doubled down on her efforts during the vaccination campaign. “After advocating about the benefits and side effects of immunization, the community started accepting it.”

The commitment to fight polio continues in mid-February, when the second round of immunization will begin.

“If we are to protect all children from polio, it is essential that we sustain the momentum of our initial success in the second round of immunization,” says Arie Rukmantara, Chief of UNICEF’s field office in Surabaya.  “When one child remains unprotected, every child becomes vulnerable to the threat of polio. Immunization is a shield that protects the entire community.”

UNICEF Indonesia is grateful for the support received from individuals and other donors including the Government of Australia