An evaluation of previous campaigns shows that six per cent of children below five in the region were not vaccinated.

Public health officials in the Littoral Region say less than five per cent of non-vaccinated children needed for the country to be considered polio-safe are still to be reached in seven of Cameroon’s 10 regions. Further action to eliminate poliomyelitis in the Littoral Region culminated in the vaccination of children below five years in all health districts between May 29 and 31, 2015.

The Head of Division for Economic, Social and Cultural Affairs in the Littoral Governor’s Office personally launched the vaccination campaigns in Nyalla, Douala. The three Local Vaccination Days began at the recently-created Japoma Health District where the Governor’s representative personally administered two drops of polio vaccines to pupils of “Ecole des Meilleurs Nyalla.” It is worthy to note that Cameroon was recently declared free from wild poliomyelitis.

The Head of Division was accompanied by the Littoral Regional Delegate of Public Health, Dr. Yamba Martin Beas, alongside other local administrative and health officials. Before proceeding with the vaccination exercise in some homes in Nyalla, the officials declared that the intention is to completely wipe out polio. The vaccination consists in the oral administration of the polio vaccine, the marking of the fingers of recipients and their homes. According to Dr. Yamba Beas, the vaccination is to strengthen the immunisation of targeted children and to reach children who were not vaccinated in previous campaigns. Vaccination teams went from one door to the other administering the vaccine.

“Even if all children are not reached at the end of this round, we are going to set apart one or two days during which vaccination teams will go round to vaccinate those children who were not reached during these three days,” Dr. Yamba Beas assured.