Building Trust for Immunization and Child Survival with Religious and Traditional Leaders and the Media [CD-Rom/DVD]

Religious and traditional leaders and senior media representatives from across Africa gathered for a three-day forum in Dakar, Senegal in October 2004 to explore how their "unique influence" within hard-to-reach communities can boost immunisation rates and support child survival efforts in Africa. The Forum was co-sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Religions for Peace in response to faltering rates of immunisation and child survival on the continent. Of the nearly 11 million children under five who die each year around the world, 42 percent are in sub-Saharan Africa. The sponsoring organisations believed that the international development community had historically paid insufficient attention to the community of religious leaders and traditional leaders, the trust they inspire, and the action they can provoke. Over 200 delegates - representing Muslim, Christian, and traditional African perspectives - shared their diverse opinions and experiences and examined the issues that would pave the way for improved partnership and collective responsibility. They were joined in their deliberations by leading figures from the Africa's media.

This CD and DVD gather together the official documents of this Forum. It includes the recommendations of three working groups - Immunisation as an Instrument for Peace; Interfaith Working Group on Immunisation and Child Survival; and The Role of the Media in Immunisation and Child Survival - and a final Call to Action which was unanimously adopted.