Vertical and Integrated Programs: Why Well-Funded Vertical Programs May Be Mistrusted

Svea Closser, MPH, PhD Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, USA

Listening to communities and their needs and building trust over time, and providing broader health services instead of promoting singular focus on a vertical program are a few key considerations in decreasing hesitancy and refusals towards the program, as we saw in the two examples from the DRC and Nigeria.

Please review the reading What led to the Nigerian boycott of the polio vaccination campaign?

Now, reflecting on the reading and the previous video, consider these questions:

What kind of health communication strategies might work in a context where people are dissatisfied with priorities and the way that services are being provided?

What could polio staff do when dissatisfaction with their project stemmed from issues beyond the polio program?

Please take a moment to share your thoughts in the discussion.