Welcome to the DCEU newsletter. This newsletter provides updates on a weekly basis, tracking trends and misinformation for regional officers in five regions affected by polio: Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO), Middle East and North Africa (MENARO), South Asia (ROSA), West and Central Africa (WCARO), and Europe and Central Asia (ECARO).
We will link to screenshots of misinformation in each of the sections below so you can see what is spreading. All identifying information in the images has been obscured. Repeating the falsehoods or passing along this misinformation to the public can reinforce the misinformation and increase its reach. Direct links to misinformation are often deleted or removed, sometimes by the bad actors themselves and at times because the misinformation violates the policies of social media companies.
After reviewing data from 10 nations, the WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee concluded that the risk of cVDPV2 and WPV1 spread remains high in 2023. The committee reviewed data from Afghanistan, Botswana, Canada, DR Congo, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, and Zambia. cVDPV2 is a greater threat, with wild poliovirus transmission limited to three clusters in south Asia and southeastern Africa. The committee, which recommends that countries declare polio transmission a national public health emergency, reaffirmed the goal of global wild polio eradication and containment of cVDPV outbreaks by the end of the year.
A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine outlines the challenges the GPEI faces in achieving and maintaining a polio-free world, including the limitations of available vaccines. The switch back to trivalent OPV, which provides immunity against all poliovirus strains, and the introduction of nOPV2 could help overcome the final hurdle in eliminating vaccine-derived polioviruses.
A news article discusses how a recent phase 2 clinical trial of the nOPV2 conducted in Bangladesh offers new hope for eliminating polio once and for all. The study found that newborns immunized with nOPV2 had robust immunity against polio with a significantly lower rate of vaccine poliovirus shedding in the feces. This would dramatically reduce the risk of cVDPV2 circulation among unvaccinated and under-vaccinated populations.
Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO): UNICEF’s polio vaccination campaigns in Mozambique reached over 11 million children last year.
Middle East and North Africa (MENARO): The Houthis are accused of hindering vaccine campaigns; a Somali program assesses missed vaccinations.
South Asia (ROSA): Pakistan launches a 39-district polio campaign.
West and Central Africa (WCARO): Nigeria reduces cVDPV2 cases; an OPV shortage hits Ghana’s Greater Accra Region.
Europe and Central Asia (ECARO): Low vaccination rates in Macedonia increase the risk of disease outbreaks.
Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO)
News and updates
Last year in Mozambique, over 11 million children were vaccinated in six rounds of UNICEF-supported national polio immunization campaigns. The country faced outbreaks of wild poliovirus and cVDPV in addition to cholera.
Emerging misinformation
South Africa
Comments call vaccine campaign part of a government conspiracy As South Africa kicked off a national measles campaign last week, some parents expressed skepticism and hesitancy about the campaign’s motives. A news article detailed some of the comments, including claims that the government is untrustworthy and that vaccines are unsafe and meant to “kill our kids.” One comment stated that the vaccination campaign is part of the “New World Order” (NWO), a conspiracy theory that a group of global elites is working to control the world’s population. The measles outbreak in South Africa has surpassed 500 cases since October.
🟡 Risk assessment: Medium risk
Distrust in the government and global health campaigns can contribute to vaccine hesitancy. Emphasizing that safety measures like vaccination campaigns are lifesaving responses to disease outbreaks, not signs of a global takeover plot, is recommended, as is explaining that all vaccines go through rigorous safety testing, including clinical trials, before they are approved for the public. Prebunking messaging may also emphasize that measles and polio vaccines have been safely given to billions of children and generations of families worldwide.
Middle East and North Africa (MENARO)
News and updates
Yemen’s health ministry has accused the Houthi government of hindering vaccination efforts by portraying immunization campaigns as part of a hostile “international conspiracy.” The militia has previously been accused of blocking the distribution of vaccines in regions under its control. Yemen reported 160 cVDPV2 cases last year. The country will launch a national polio vaccine campaign next month.
A program launched last year in Somalia seeks to find out why some children are being missed by routine immunization campaigns. The country’s displaced and minority populations have particularly low vaccination rates.
Emerging misinformation
Yemen
Houthi leader allegedly claims vaccines are satanic and anti-Islam According to Turkish and Yemeni news sources, Houthi militia leaders hosted an anti-vaccine seminar called “Vaccines are neither safe nor effective.” One speaker claimed that vaccines are satanic and part of an “aggressive Jewish conspiracy” to destroy Islamic teachings. The speaker also claimed that vaccines contain poison and are used to kill billions of people. The speech and seminar were strongly condemned as “reckless” by Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population.
🔴 Risk assessment: High risk
The potential impact on immunization campaigns elevates the risk of this misinformation. Some people oppose polio vaccines on moral or religious grounds. Consider prebunking misinformation related to the religious permissibility of vaccination by partnering with trusted faith leaders to explain that all major religions around the world support vaccines. Messaging may also explain that many religious leaders believe that it's through prayer and faith that we have access to the medicines and vaccines that keep our children safe from terrible diseases. Emphasizing that the polio vaccine is the only way to protect children from polio is recommended.
Iraq
Replies to polio vaccine video claim Iraq used to be disease-free The Iraq Ministry of Health shared a WHO Iraq video that features a father advocating for polio vaccination after his son contracted polio. In response to the video, several commenters claim that Iraq used to be “free of all diseases.” Other replies claim that children have been injured by polio vaccines.
🟡 Risk assessment: Medium risk
The false belief that polio vaccination is unnecessary or that it shouldn’t be a priority can lead to vaccine hesitancy. Consider countering this misinformation by emphasizing that polio outbreaks most often occur in places with low immunization rates and that vaccination is the best way to prevent all forms of polio. Emphasizing that polio vaccines go through rigorous safety testing, including clinical trials, before they are approved for the public is recommended.
South Asia (ROSA)
News and updates
Pakistan’s health ministry launched a national polio campaign on Monday, a response to positive environmental poliovirus samples detected in Lahore last month. The five-day campaign, the second this year, targets 6 million children in 39 districts, including seven districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two in Punjab. A third round of vaccination campaigns is scheduled for March. A recent health department report found that as many as 91,000 children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa missed polio immunizations during the January drive.
Emerging misinformation
Pakistan
Politician administering polio vaccine accused of corruption An image of a politician and leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam political party giving polio drops to a child is being used to question the politician’s credibility. Some commenters express distrust of the politician and his perceived corruption.
🟢 Risk assessment: Low risk
Distrust of government officials is widespread and may impact the perception of public health efforts such as polio immunization campaigns. Health communicators are recommended to continue to focus on current immunization talking points and, as much as possible, be seen as remaining neutral and solely concerned with protecting the health of all people. Prebunking messaging may emphasize that the polio vaccine has been rigorously tested and administered safely for several generations.
Pakistan
Post claims that polio vaccines harm the body and brain A reply to a social media post promoting polio vaccination claims that the polio vaccines contain germs and have damaging effects on the body and brain. The post also claims that vaccination is part of U.S.- and Israel-backed propaganda campaigns.
🟢 Risk assessment: Low risk
The post’s low engagement decreases its risk. Fears of international interference and the motivations behind foreign aid are widespread, as is misinformation about the effectiveness of vaccines. Continuing to report on the purpose and results of donations and the effectiveness of vaccines against severe illness is recommended. Continuing to emphasize that the polio vaccine is extremely safe and rigorously tested is recommended, as is highlighting that vaccination programs are overseen by local ministries of health that have decision-making power.
West and Central Africa (WCARO)
News and updates
Nigeria has reduced cVDPV2 cases by 85 percent in the last year, bringing the country closer to polio eradication.
The Greater Accra Region in Ghana is facing a polio vaccine shortage. Hospital staff and parents have expressed concerns about infants missing their scheduled polio drops.
Emerging misinformation
Nigeria
Religious forum posts call Gates and vaccines eugenicist Several posts on a religious forum claim that Bill Gates uses vaccines to experiment on people and to depopulate the planet.
🟡 Risk assessment: Medium risk
Debunking polio misinformation takes time. Conspiracies that vaccines are meant to control or eliminate populations will persist, as they have existed for decades. In some cases, as in Africa, concerns regarding medical experimentation are understandable. Experts agree that depopulation conspiracies circulating in communities that have experienced unethical medical research or experimentation can only be combated by first acknowledging that serious abuses have occurred in the past and that these abuses are what led to the safeguards that exist now. Continuing to emphasize that the polio vaccine is extremely safe and rigorously tested is recommended, as is highlighting that polio vaccination programs are run by local ministries of health without Western interference.
Region
Comments claim Gates Foundation reintroduced polio to Africa A blog post claiming that COVID-19 vaccines are part of a sinister plot received a reply claiming that the Gates Foundation “reintroduced polio to Africa.” The post specifically mentions Sudan, Chad, Cameroon, Angola, Congo, Nigeria, and Zambia.
🟡 Risk assessment: Medium risk
Although this misinformation does not have much engagement, it demonstrates the persistence of misinformation about global health work. The Gates Foundation supports polio eradication efforts worldwide, but there is no evidence that the organization's work has bad intentions or is part of an effort to control people. These fears of international interference and the motivations behind foreign aid are widespread. Continuing to inform the public about how local health ministries work with international aid organizations and transparently reporting on their purpose and results is recommended.
Europe and Central Asia (ECARO)
News and updates
The risk of measles or polio outbreaks in Macedonia has risen in recent years. The country had a measles outbreak in 2018 when the measles vaccination rate was 75 percent. According to officials, the rate is currently only 70.4 percent. The polio vaccination rate is 80 percent, right at the threshold for poliovirus herd immunity.
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