Did the national campaign for poliomyelitis vaccination achieve its objectives

Objectives: To verify whether the national poliomyelitis vaccination campaign has achieved its objectives. Setting: Various regions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) including Riyadh, Jeddah, Mekkah, Tabbouk and Gizan. Material and methods: Randomized samples were obtained using the Bowleg's proportional allocation scheme. Housing blocks were selected using simple random sampling procedures. All Saudis and non-Saudis in the selected blocks were screened using a pre-tested questionnaire administered in a face-to- face interview by trained interviewers. The data combined with those of an earlier pilot survey carried out in Al-Khobar area were analyzed. Results: A total of 646 households were surveyed; Riyadh 160, Jeddah 82, Mekkah 50, Tabbouk 164, Gizan 83 and Al-Khobar 107. The under five population of children was 618. The coverage of the target population was Riyadh 88%, Jeddah 74%, Mekkah 93%, Tabbouk 97%, Gizan 100% and Al-Khobar 100%. Conclusion: The overall percentage coverage in the Kingdom was 92% which attests to the success of the campaign. An area concern is Jeddah where the percentage coverage was 74% and should receive more attention during the next national vaccination campaign as well as mopping up vaccinations.