The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) stands tall on the foundation of millions of women’s efforts and voices.

Supporting vaccine equit

As an epidemiologist in Iraq with 25 years’ experience eight of which were in immunization, Dr Israa Tariq Mahmoud is responsible for providing vaccines to all health centres and institutions that work within the Rasafa District of Baghdad. She also follows up on the availability and distribution of vaccines to ensure they reach children across the area she covers.

Dr Israa chose to work in immunization as it would allow her to build relationships with the children and families in her community. She feels a strong sense of social justice in her efforts to ensure that all children, regardless of their social status, have equal access to vaccination.

She adds that she and her colleagues who are health care workers are all cogs in the chain of efforts required to eradicate polio, from surveillance to vaccine follow-up. That follow-up includes checking that children have taken all doses of the vaccine and monitoring for any adverse events following immunization (AEFIs). They also conduct disease surveillance as they visit children’s homes.

Dr Israa says she feels the same drive a parent or caregiver does when they look after their own child. She has advice for health workers, especially young ones: “We all, males and females, have a role, no matter how small, in building our country.”