Visionary Reports

The campaign will run from 24 to 27 April 2025.

Renewed Strategies put in place

The littoral region will join the national campaign to vaccinate children against poliomyelitis. The campaign, which will run from 24-27 April, will target children aged 0-5 years. The campaign will take place simultaneously in the ten regions of Cameroon. The campaign comes at a time when two cases of poliomyelitis have been detected in the Deido health district of the Littoral Region. In response to this worrying development, the region has mobilised to ensure that all children in the region are vaccinated. This was evident at a stakeholders’ meeting held in the region on Thursday 17 April, where vaccination teams were urged to mobilise renewed efforts to reach the targeted number of children in the region. It came out from the meeting that During the last immunization campaign in 2024, the region had a coverage rate of 102% and a refusal rate of 12.0%.The Head of Economic Affairs Division in the Littoral Governor’s Office, Madam Aboda Cluchagues Francine, urged everyone to put hands on deck to reach the targeted children in the region. She added that vaccination teams will be going to churches, mosques, schools, homes, markets, streets and all public places. “This year, we have organised another meeting to sensitise everyone on the existence of polio and to bring their children for vaccination. We call on civil society to join the bandwagon and mobilise the population for vaccination,” she concluded.

Stakeholders brain storm

The four-day national campaign will target 7,442,572 children aged 0-59 months, while 742,667 children will be targeted in the Littoral region.According to the coordinator of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation for the Littoral Region, Dr Ewane Leonard, the performance in 2023 was modest and the 2024 campaigns witnessed some improvements as 12 out of 24 districts passed the campaign. He revealed that “our performance is improving after every campaign and we want all parents to take their children for immunisation. Only two drops of polio are put in the child’s mouth. We have two cases of polio in Douala at the moment, and that puts the whole region at risk” *Stakeholders renew efforts to eradicate polio.

By GINA ESONG