With our story, we can inspire allies to fight polio

“Unfortunately, polio is a part of our lives. From when we were children, and just wanted to run, jump, dance and play like any other child our age in the neighborhood, to today, when we face new challenges every day in adjusting to the impacts of polio.” – Said Farida Gulamo, polio survivor and President of the Mozambican Association of People with Disability (ADEMO), while participating in filming for a digital “Faces of Polio”, campaign, organized by Mozambique’s Ministry of Health and UNICEF.

Having contracted the disease when she was only 5 years old, at a time when she had no access to vaccines, Farida faced difficulties resulting from polio. “Coping with polio is an ongoing challenge. Every day of my life is demanding, but I have learned to turn things around.”

For this reason, Farida understands the importance of using her voice in the fight against polio, “to prevent other people from going through the same suffering”, she said.

This conversation took place on the sidelines of a training for 20 outreach workers from ADEMO, who later joined vaccination teams in Maputo City during the ninth round of the oral polio vaccination campaign.

Farida and ADEMO outreach workers showed their excitement at the opportunity to contribute to an effective polio outbreak response and use their life stories to inspire other people and encourage community engagement – especially for parents and caregivers who are generally the key decision makers in whether to vaccinate their children.

Vaccine acceptance is high in Mozambique, but challenges in reaching some children are observed in the field. According to independent monitoring data from earlier vaccination campaigns, acceptance of the oral polio vaccine in Mozambique is high and vaccine hesitancy is not the main reason for non-vaccination. Key challenges include reaching children in some areas, such as the capital city, Maputo, where teams face difficulties vaccinating children from middle-class and elite families, and in international schools.

According to Farida, there is a need to talk about polio and show communities that this virus is still a problem: “Our life is completely transformed when we get polio and it takes a great deal of willpower to fight and readapt”. Before the importation of Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) into Mozambique in early 2022, the country had not seen a case of wild poliovirus infection in more than thirty years.

The arrival of the virus in Tete province in 2022 drew global attention. It highlighted the need for greater vigilance and a robust response. Vaccination campaigns provide excellent opportunities to ensure children are protected and can live lives free from polio, a disease with life-threatening impacts. Thanks to this strong response, no wild poliovirus cases have been reported since August 2022.

“I had polio very early in my life and this made my childhood very challenging. I used to look at myself and realized that I was different. I had to remind myself that I was also a child and had the same right to play and have fun like any other child,” said Farida. She expressed her concern that many children are still not receiving the vaccine, even though it is highly effective and made available free of charge by the Government.

Farida noted that she continues to learn about the disease and still experiences changes in her body. With a firm and captivating voice, Farida emotionally recalled, during the recording of the “Faces of Polio” campaign, that during her childhood she had much support and love from her parents and siblings and that everyone always fought to overcome her disability with the hope of being able to see her walking again.

At the time, she said, there was not much information about polio, unlike today, and this reinforces her commitment to act as a spokesperson for the fight against polio and show the benefits of vaccination.

Ana Tamele, a member of ADEMO, who was also represented as a ‘face of polio’ in the communication campaign shared similar feelings. Ana caught polio at the age of two. Her eyes shone with emotion as she recalled that she was born “as a strong and healthy child”. In an emotional tone, Ana shared that her parents noticed something was happening when at the age of two she was constantly falling, showing that she had no strength in her legs. When her parents realized that traditional treatments were not effective, they took her to a hospital, “but it was too late because her leg muscles had already atrophied.” Ana understands the importance of sharing her life story, to save children who may have the same symptoms. Her appeal was for the need to “raise awareness among all parents, caregivers and communities at large about the disease and how it manifests so that they can act before it gets too late and go to a health unit immediately at the first suspected signs of paralysis".

Ana's appeal is aligned with the priority strategies for polio eradication, as it promotes community surveillance and the active search for suspected cases, maximizing the detection, notification, and control of cases in a timely manner. “At the time it wasn't easy to get a wheelchair and we didn't have the means to buy one, so I finished primary school by crawling. I covered 15 kilometres a day in rain, sun, and wind, but I had the willpower to go further.”- she added.

The willpower that Ana had as a child when completing her studies and fighting for a better life, trying to overcome her disability, is the same willpower that moves her today to contribute positively to the fight against polio in the country where she was born.

Ana also reinforced the appeal to other ADEMO members and social mobilizers to spread the word and, in their journey through the community, to encourage the vaccination of all children under 15 years of age, as a way of preventing polio. Ana recognizes herself as “an agent of change” and values the power of knowledge as a means to transform people's lives, especially children who have a world ahead of them. According to her, “Many children with disabilities are hidden at home and are deprived of access to health care and especially a social life that involves education, etc. That is why ADEMO invests in activists like her, who promote health, education, and training.

In line with the campaign's messages, Ana reinforced the need to explain to parents before the campaign that, “if they would not be home, or if the vaccinators did not pass by their homes during the days planned for vaccination, they should not wait.” Rather, they could go to the nearest health unit and get their child/ children vaccinated and protect them against polio.

About the “Faces of polio” digital communication campaign

The “Faces of Polio” campaign was initiated during the ninth round of the national oral polio vaccination campaign in Mozambique, in September 2023, to respond to questions from parents and caregivers about receiving multiple doses of the vaccine, and includes testimonies from people affected by polio, such as Farida and Ana. This initiative constituted another approach to social mobilization and communication, serving to create demand for vaccination of children under 15 years of age during the national vaccination campaign against polio. With this strategy, it was possible to show first-hand experiences and opinions, aiming at increasing awareness about the disease and encouraging parents and caregivers to vaccinate their children during the polio campaigns.

The “Faces of Polio” campaign also seeks to give hope to those who are survivors of polio, showing that despite the conditions of the disease, the daily challenges, and the prejudice that exists in society.

Above all, the campaign seeks to show the importance of vaccination to prevent the disease that causes irreversible damage to a person’s limbs and life. No child should suffer from a preventable illness.

The polio response in Mozambique

To date, Mozambique has recorded 41 polio cases since the outbreak declaration in 2022. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and in collaboration with GPEI partners, Mozambique implemented nine rounds of polio vaccination campaigns.

As a member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (WHO, UNICEF, Rotary, CDC, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GAVI), UNICEF supports the Government of Mozambique in implementing the polio emergency response by providing technical and financial support for the pillars of social mobilization and vaccine management. Since the response began, UNICEF has been supporting the distribution of more than 88 million doses of oral polio vaccines. In the latest national vaccination round 23 million children, under 15 were successfully vaccinated against polio.

Regarding social mobilization, independent monitoring data consistently reported that more than 90 percent of parents received information through the campaigns that were conducted. This reaffirms the effectiveness of communication and social mobilization through multiple channels, to reach diverse audiences.