![A child’s finger is marked after being vaccinated. Bodinga, Nigeria photo:Christine McNab](http://polioeradication.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/PolioCampaignMonitoring-1.jpg)
photo:Christine McNab
Independent polio campaign monitoring is carried out to assess the quality and impact of supplementary immunization activities. It is critical to guiding any necessary mid-course corrections if gaps or problems are found.
The basic elements of monitoring include recording: the number and source of independent monitors, the number of children monitored, the percentage of children whose fingers are marked to prove they were vaccinated (both in house-to-house monitoring and out-of-house) and the proportion of districts monitored.
Real-time, independent monitoring data answers the question, “How many children did we reach with vaccine?” It allows rapid changes to be made to cover missing children and stop polio transmission more quickly.
The results of the independent monitoring are made available internationally within 15 days of each immunization round.
Reports by country are available through the menu on the left.