Thematic Analysis of the Culture of UNICEF in Response to Polio Eradication Efforts

UNICEF is the largest contributor of vaccines to the developing world. Under the framework of Global Polio Eradication Initiative, UNICEF has deployed a strategic approach called the Communication for Development (C4D) approach that utilizes community engagement to effectively disseminate the oral polio vaccine (OPV). UNICEF stresses how the C4D approach results in the structuring and implementation of programs that reflect the community's thoughts and actions. Documents focused on the existing C4D approach in Pakistan were analyzed to see how themes of community knowledge are relayed according to document type and level. Based on the various levels of documentation (ranging from a qualitative study of community thoughts to briefs presented to UNICEF experts), it appears that while community ideas surrounding OPV and Polio are at first recorded in their full nuance, this complex information is lost at the highest level of documentation. This points to a cultural of optimism that may be obstructive to critical and strategic thinking.