Why is this work relevant for PR?

The execution itself was delivering an experience as a live event using polio survivors from within the Pashtun communities to convert polio rejectors into promoters to use word of mouth within their communities to create a mindset change.

Background

Pakistan is one of two countries left where wild poliovirus remains endemic. Polio eradication seems an almost impossible task in Pakistan, largely in part because of the vaccine refusals in the Pashtun communities due to their misbeliefs surrounding them. Pashtuns account for 75% of Pakistan’s polio cases even though they are only 15% of the population. They believe the polio vaccines to be a Western propaganda aimed at destroying them, with deep-rooted misperceptions from them not being halal, them making their children sterile to the vaccines causing children to become sick or die. Because of these conservative beliefs, they distrust any outsider, due to which all efforts have faced harsh resistance where polio workers have often been killed in the past. The challenge was to change the mindsets within the high-risk Pashtun communities where the vaccine rejection rates were high, dispel misperceptions and ultimately make Pakistan polio free.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

With their deep-rooted misbeliefs, the Pashtun communities refuse to hear from outsiders, causing them to fear the polio vaccine more than they fear polio itself, not having "seen" the disease. They believed polio to be a hoax. We wanted to flip this equation. To do so, we invited polio vaccines rejectors from the high-risk Pashtun communities and then introduced them to their fellow Pashtuns who had once held the same beliefs. "Meet the survivors". As the vaccine rejectors shared their reasons for not vaccinating their children, they found themselves face to face with Pashtun Polio survivors and immediately realise that this disease is very real. The survivors shared how they had once held the same beliefs and had also rejected the Polio vaccines only to discover the disease to be real, but by then it was too late, and it had completely devastated their lives.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

To be able to eradicate polio in Pakistan we had to change the mindset of the conservative Pasthun population, who felt that polio was just a hoax. Because of their distrust towards outsiders regarding polio, instead of communicating at them like most campaigns had being doing, we decided to do the complete opposite and find polio vaccine supporters from within their community to change their mindsets. Someone they would have to listen to as they were living proof that polio is real and devastating; Pashtun polio survivors. So the messaging was being created from within the community. No brands, logos or celebrities. The strategy was to convince them in such a shocking way that we convert these polio vaccine rejectors into not only believers, but into promoters of the vaccine. Who would then return to their high-risk communities and change mindsets there because of what they had experienced.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

We invited polio vaccines rejectors from the high-risk Pashtun communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) to a Jirga, a traditional Pashtun tribal council meeting to share their views on polio vaccines, where they were introduced to fellow Pashtun polio survivors. 7 such Jirgas were held just prior to the National Immunization Drive (NID) that happened on-ground where the polio teams go house-to-house giving polio drops to children under the age of 5 across Pakistan. We wanted to create a mindset shift prior to the NID so as to increase vaccine acceptance. The campaign was part of a yearlong initiative where we used social media influencers, famed Pashto cartoon character as a strategy to always make the campaign come from within from within the Pashtun communities rather than from any brand since they lacked trust in any organization.

List the results (30% of vote)

The campaign immediately changed mindsets and we had converted rejectors into avid supporters. Within 6 months word of mouth had travelled all across Pakistan, helping us not only secure the highest vaccine acceptance rate in years of 97%. Not only that, but an independent research of the high-risk Pashtun communities also showed that 90% of people now considered polio to be a serious concern for their child, 94% believed the polio vaccines to be safe and 96% believed them to be effective at preventing their child from contracting polio*. Owning to the breakthrough in changing deep-rooted mindsets, Pakistan has just marked its milestone of being polio-free for a year and are nearing reaching polio eradication according to the PM aide. Punjab has become the first Pakistani province to be declared polio-free with the Government also stating that polio is now nearing its eradication in KP as well. *Research by Accadian

Please tell us about the social behaviour that inspired the work

Because of their distrust towards outsiders regarding polio, instead of communicating at them like most campaigns had being doing, we decided to do the complete opposite and find polio vaccine supporters from within their community to change their mindsets. Someone they would trust and listen to. The messaging was being created from within the community. No brands, logos or celebrities.