The campaign will run from the 7-10 oMay 2021 and involves children from 0-5 years.
The National Immunisation Days for the Littoral Region has been launched with a call for stakeholders to ensure that children from 0-5 years get the polio vaccine as well as Vitamin A and Mebendazole/Albendazole for deworm.
A meeting to ensure success of the campaign took place at the Littoral Governor’s office on 6 May. During the meeting, the Secretary General in the Littoral Governor’s office. Aboubakary Haman Tchiouto called on stakeholders to engage in sensitization so as to get the maximum of children for the vaccination. He said all the 24 health districts in the Region will be fully in charge of the vaccination in their different areas. As such, he called on the traditional leaders, teachers, opinion leaders, to facilitate the work of the different vaccination teams in their different localities while urging parents to bring out their children for vaccination. As a result of the fear and misinformation surrounding the Covid-19 vaccine, the SG reiterated that polio vaccine is oral and for children below 5 years while Covid-19 vaccine is injectable and for adults. He advised parents to shun fear and bring their children for vaccination.
To ensure the success of the vaccination campaign, the regional coordinator of the expanded programme of immunization for Littoral, Dr Ewane Leonard, disclosed that they have mobilized 1,751 social mobilization teams, 1,739 vaccination teams, 431 supervisors who will all be supervised by 33 regional supervisors, plus four supervisors from the central services and eight WHO consultants.
Dr Ewane Leonard was quick to add that in June 2020, Cameroon was declared poliomyelitis free and to ensure that this is effectively what the country needs to continue immunization because it is surrounded with countries that still have polio cases.
He reminded all that children from 0-5 years will be vaccinated against poliomyelitis, while those from 6-59 months will take Vitamin A and those from 1- 5 years will be dewormed.
To him, the more the child is vaccinated the more he will be protected, while adding that 10 out of 100 children suffering from polio die. He also joined his voice to call for parents to bring out their children for vaccination, he equally urged school authorities to open their doors to the different mobilization teams.
During the interactions, stakeholders requested that the days for the immunization campaign should be extended and more aggressive communication strategies employed to attain maximum results.