By Noela Ebob B, Daniela Itoe N & Sandrine Moma
The first round of the 2019 national immunization days is ongoing in the South west and North west regions, amidst the current socio-political crisis plaguing the two regions. The immunization programme attends to children aged 0-59 months.
According to the regional delegate of Public Health for the South west, Dr Victor Mbome, the vaccination campaign shall be door to door. “We want to use the families, the communities to be able to reach out as many children as we can”, he states.
The programme involves the administering of vaccines and vitamins, so as to improve the health of children, notably the polio vaccine, administered to children aged 0-59 months. According to Aguh Kareen, General Supervisor of Limbe Sub divisional Hospital, (PMI) down beach, the aim of the administration of the polio vaccine is to prevent poliomyelitis, a disease which causes weakness of the limbs and can lead to paralysis.
Also during the campaign, they are supplementing vitamin A, given orally to children from 6-59 months with purpose to improve their eye sight (vision), skin and growth.
Mebendazole (worm medicine) is also given to children aged 1-5years to kill worms in their digestive systems, for the presence of worms causes growth retardation.
“If the government has provided an intervention like this, it is good for the population to also be involved in it, because the programme is free of charge. Even community workers are going out to distribute the vaccines because they feel responsible towards their community. We are calling on the population to cooperate with us, and parents should ensure that their children are given all the various interventions”, Aguh tells The Sun.
Health workers to extend Polio Vaccination to the bushes
Health workers in Meme Division have promised to use every means possible to vaccinate children including those in the bushes in the upcoming national polio vaccination campaign, despite the challenges awaiting them given the prevailing insecurity situation in the North West and South West Regions.
The promise was made by the District Medical Officer, DMO for Kumba, Dr. Ebongo Zacchaeus Nanje on Tuesday, March 26, in a planning meeting at the conference room of the health district that grouped chief of centres of the various health establishments in the division.
The meeting which was meant to put in place strategies to kick start the campaign gave the chief of centres the opportunities to reveal strategies they have put in place to be accepted in their various health areas.
Given the fact that the socio-political crisis in the North West and South West Regions of the country has caused the displacement of the population to bushes and other towns, there is need for the vaccinators to extend their services to the bushes.
“Parents have been forced to flee their normal aboard to the bushes and other neighbouring towns where they are not used to because of the crisis; our appeal is that they allow us, health care givers, to penetrate the communities and vaccinate these children because if the children are not vaccinated, they will not be healthy and if they are not healthy, it is their own tomorrow which is compromised”, the DMO averred.
He further reiterated the need for the chief of centres to make use of individuals who can conveniently carry out the vaccination exercise in the bushes.
Dr. Ebongo called on everyone to know the importance of having children vaccinated and for village committee stakeholders to collaborate with the vaccinators and allow their children to be vaccinated.
The Chief of centre of the Bakumba Health Centre disclosed that the bulk of her population of her health area are in the bushes, reasons why they have put in place strategies to assist them penetrate into the bushes and get the children vaccinated.
“Most of the population of Bakumba is in the bushes thereby posing a major challenge to the vaccination exercise. We intend to make announcements so that people will come to the village with their children for vaccination, though we will still go to the bushes since some might be skeptical to come”, she noted.
With many health centres not operating in most areas in the division especially in the suburbs, the task of getting children vaccinated will certainly not be an easy one. Nonetheless, no polio case has been recorded as of now in the South west region.
Polio immunization campaign launched in NW
The immunization campaign against poliomyelitis has been lunched in the North West region. As part of the campaign, some journalists in the North West region have been schooled on ways of carrying out sensitization campaigns ahead of polio immunization. This was done during a workshop that held at the regional delegation of public health on Thursday March 21st.
During the training session, journalists were told that it is of outmost importance to sensitize parents, youths, leaders and authorities on poliomyelitis vaccination. This, as failure to have children aged 0-59months vaccinated if attacked by the virus can weaken and paralyze them for the rest if their lives.
According to health experts, poliomyelitis is a contagious disease but can be eradicated through routine vaccination. This explains the need for sensitizing the population about this virus and it’s mode of prevention.
This year’s polio immunization days is slated for March 29th to 31st. It is expected that, parents and guardians alike seize the opportunity to have their children vaccinated against this virus. In all the 19th health districts of the NWR, immunization specialists will move from door to door, markets, churches and other public places to administer the vaccine. According to health authorities in the region, those to administer the vaccine will be dressed in a similar uniform for easy identification.