The vital drop: communication for polio eradication in India by Gitanjali Chaturvedi
Sage. Pages: xviii+319. Price: Rs. 750/-
India’s demographic, economic and geographic complexities pose daunting challenges to mass disease eradication campaigns – as evidenced by the drive against polio which is arguably the biggest of its kind in the world. Various agencies and institutions with variegated competencies have been involved in order to reach out to India’s “large, diverse, segregated and mobile populations” not to mention the marginalized ones. All this requires deployment of well thought out and innovative means of communication and sophisticated surveillance systems. The author points out, “Democracy accords citizens the luxury of choice, which they often exercise by saying no.” She further states that doubts about actual intention behind eradication arise when people’s minds are unable to rationalize the logic behind multiple rounds of administering polio drops. Thus, challenges posed to effective communication have been: (1) Creating awareness that polio is preventable by regular administration of drops to children below five years of age; (2) To convince families that polio drops are essential for preventing permanent disability and, therefore, they must ensure that their children are adequately protected; and (3) To ensure continued compliance by families, round after round.
This book tells us how these challenges have been met.
THE TRIBUNE
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