Supervising success: On the frontlines of Jayapura’s polio defence

4 September 2024

Staff of the Jayapura District Health Office (DHO) are on the frontlines of protecting children against the debilitating, potentially fatal impact of outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived polio virus type 2.

Since 27 May 2024, across Jayapura District, the DHO team has supervised a Supplementary Immunization Activity (SIA) conducted by 20 primary health care centres (puskesmas), including Sentani Puskesmas.

As of 24 July, Sentani Puskesmas had reached 5168 children in the first round of the SIA, higher than the 4972 children targeted. This included children of families who are registered as residents of other districts and provinces but who currently reside in Sentani.

In its supervisory role, the DHO team has used both online and offline methods, allowing rapid feedback and connection with field teams – including in hard-to-reach areas – to protect every child.


These activities were supported by the US Government through USAID.

Written by Rosa Panggabean, photographer, and Bunga Manggiasih, National Professional Officer (Communication), WHO Indonesia

Photos were taken on 24 July 2024. Credits: WHO/Rosa Panggabean

WHO/Rosa Panggabean
Esti Maria Hastuti from Puskesmas Sentani and Maria Bawan of SD YPK Sentani talk to student's mothers about the polio vaccination campaign.
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Tracking vaccination records

Nurse Esti Maria Hastuti of Puskesmas Sentani (centre) and Principal Maria Bawan of SD YPK Sentani (second from right) discuss polio vaccination records with mothers of students. Based on guidance from Jayapura DHO, Puskesmas Sentani has verified new students’ immunization data by consulting parents directly.

 

WHO/Rosa Panggabean
Nurse Esti from Puskesmas Sentani educates students of SD YPK Sentani about the importance of polio vaccinations.
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Educating the children

Nurse Esti and Yuliana Waisimon (left), a homeroom teacher at SD YPK Sentani, educate students on the benefits of polio vaccination. Post-discussion, children up to 8 years of age were vaccinated.

 

WHO/Rosa Panggabean
The Puskesmas Sentani team provides polio vaccines for SD YPK Sentani students.
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Time for the drops

The Puskesmas Sentani team administered polio vaccines to 31 SD YPK students under 8 years of age.

 

WHO/Rosa Panggabean
Nurse Esti and the Sentani Puskesmas team while vaccinating kindergarteners in Otauw.
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Vaccination in kindergarten

The Puskesmas team visits a kindergarten in Otauw, verifying children’s vaccination histories before administering polio drops to eligible students. Quinnly, Grazia, Putri and Keren are receiving the second doses to achieve optimal immunity against polio.

 

WHO/Rosa Panggabean
The Puskesmas Sentani team rode motorcycles to conduct polio vaccination at Sentani residents' houses.
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Riding to the next stops

Despite the rain and mist, the Puskesmas Sentani team continued their journey, going door-to-door to reach unvaccinated children in their homes.   

 

WHO/Rosa Panggabean
Nurse Diana Mayasari administered polio vaccine to two babies in this house.
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Protecting the babies

Nurse Diana Mayasari of Puskesmas Sentani administers the oral polio vaccine to 2-month-old Indriani Kabri (right), held by her mother Epi Seh.  Moments earlier, 4-month-old Bethy Seh (left) also received her vaccine, cradled by her mother Yuliana. The team vaccinated six children in three houses that day.

 

WHO/Rosa Panggabean
Once the fieldwork is done, the Puskesmas Sentani team journeyed back to the office for a monitoring and supervision session.
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Returning for supervision

After a morning full of fieldwork, the Puskesmas Sentani team journeyed back to the office. Later that day, Jayapura DHO officers visited the Puskesmas for a supportive supervision session

 

WHO/Rosa Panggabean
Jayapura DHO officers meet with Puskesmas Sentani team during a supportive supervision session.
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Collaborative problem-solving

Jayapura DHO’s Wa Juhria (centre), Head of the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Section, Surveillance and Immunization, and Siti Asanah A.G. Musa (second from right), immunization coordinator, discuss campaign progress with Nurse Fitriana Silva P. S. Arung (left) and Nurse Esti (right). Together, they find solutions to challenges experienced in the field.

 

WHO/Rosa Panggabean
Examining the cold storage chain is an important part of the supervision session.
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Checking the cold chain

Wa Juhria (left) and Nurse Fitriana (right) examine the vaccine refrigerator in Puskesmas Sentani. The vaccine refrigerator and vaccine carriers are critical to cold storage chain management, affecting the quality of vaccines.

 

WHO/Rosa Panggabean
Jayapura DHO and Puskesmas Sentani staff work together to update polio SIA data on the online platform.
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Updating vaccination data

In the supervision session, Siti Asanah A.G. Musa (left) from Jayapura DHO and Nurse Esti (right) from Puskesmas Sentani work side by side to check polio SIA output data and report them through an online platform. Each Puskesmas and DHO is responsible for updating the data every day.

 

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