Message On Polio: Authorities Use Urdu To Reach Out

This article describes how health authorities in Mumbai are using the Urdu language to dispel negative myths about the oral polio vaccine. According to the article, 45 high-risk Muslim-populated areas are being given posters and banners that communicate the importance of the polio drive in Urdu. Health workers are also being trained to communicate with parents and villagers in Urdu.

According to the article, many people have refused to have their children vaccinated due to rumours that the polio vaccine caused impotency. The banners and posters are helping to encourage people to vaccinate their children by dispelling the negative rumours. In the February 2007 polio immunisation drive the percentage of children vaccinated increased to 77 percent, an increase of one percent from January 2007.