Manpower utilization in pulse polio immunization

The present study was conducted in Union Territory of Chandigarh to find out the utilization pattern of manpower engaged in the implementation of Pulse Polio Campaign (PPI) on 7th December, 1997 with the objective to achieve a coverage close to 100% and thereby, eradicating poliomyelitis. Over 100,000 under-five children were expected to participate on PPI day. Out of 240 polio centres established in the Union Territory, 16 were selected by stratified random sampling covering 14,858 children. The observing teams recorded the information about the children and presence of staff members throughout the day between 8.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. It was observed that nearly half of the children received the polio drops within the first three hours while only a little over 5% visited polio centres in the last two hours. The average number of manpower varied between 5 and 6 throughout the day (more than the recommended four). The staff posted at urban, rural and slum centres did not visit the houses except for the few volunteers in slums. Unimmunized children should be identified by the staff in last two hours when the load at polio centres is extremely low. Adequate utilization of the full potential of the manpower will help in enhancing the PPI coverage close to 100%.