Some Media Professionals drawn from the North-West, South-West and West Regions, have been schooled on Routine Vaccination. This forum of exchange falls within the framework of Health System Strengthening.
Organized by the Expanded Program on Immunization E.P.I, the workshop trained media professionals on key areas of immunization and build their capacity to produce broadcasts, spots and micro-programs in favour of immunization and to also empower them with the necessary resources to research information on immunization.
This workshop is organized within the backdrop that there has been a drop in vaccination coverage where Yellow Fever YF, Measles and Rubella MR had dropped to 79% and 71% respectively in 2018. This is further corroborated by the MICS 2014 and EDS V 2018 surveys, which concluded that the proportion of children vaccinated with Penta 3 has fallen from 86% to 71.5%.
Conscious of the great role that Radio and Television play in the dissemination of information in the official and national languages through the organization of broadcast programs, the E.P.I intends to stimulate dialogue, discussions and increase people’s knowledge on the usefulness of measles-rubella combined vaccine, the vaccination schedule, the target diseases of the E.P.I as well as the diseases with epidemic potential.
Opening the workshop, the Regional Delegate of Communication for the West Region, Dr. Etienne TAYO DEMANOU challenged Communication experts to deliver
Communication for Development C4D strategies in order to obtain the commitment
and involvement of at least 80% of administrative, political, religious, traditional
authorities at different levels, inform at least 95% of the population in the
10 Regions about the measles vaccination campaign and the introduction of the
second dose of the RR vaccine, and to also obtain the participation of at least 80% of related
sectors, local and regional authorities, scientific and professional
organizations, civil society actors and community leaders. The vision sought here is that of
a world in which all individuals and communities enjoy a life free from vaccine-preventable
diseases.
In one of the presentations dwelled on very alarming figures that are now a call for concern for all media professionals. To him, the media really needs to educate, sensitize and lobby for a mindset transformation that could help step down the poor behavioral pattern within our communities, in order to enable us all curb the non acceptance of vaccination by some parents.
Discerning accurate information from misinformation is a challenge that individuals may not be able to completely resolve this has led to vaccine hesitancy which is growing and has contributed to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease.
ABSTRACT
Cameroon,
through its 2015-2020 Comprehensive Multi-Year Plan (PCAP), aligned itself with
Global Vaccine Action Plan GVAP goals by providing for the
introduction of new vaccines into the Expanded Programme on Immunization (E.P.I).
It is to this effect that the Polio Inactivated Vaccine and the combined
measles-rubella vaccine were introduced in 2015. The same is true of the
multi-dose vaccine against PCV13 pneumococcal infections in 2017. Other new
vaccine introductions are planned from 2019 to 2021, including the second dose
of measles and rubella vaccine, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, the
meningitis vaccine and the hepatitis B dose-at-birth vaccine. The goal of
introducing these new vaccines is to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused
by vaccine-preventable diseases and thus contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). In December 2019, the measles and rubella vaccine
(2nd dose) will be introduced into the routine E.P.I. This event will mark a more
effective commitment to the implementation of the measles and rubella
elimination plan for 2012-2020.
Measles
and rubella are serious and contagious diseases with dramatic consequences,
especially in children under 5 years of age. However, these diseases can be
eliminated by vaccination. Every year around the world, vaccination saves
nearly three million lives and more than 750,000 children escape the disabling
consequences of infectious diseases. Thanks to vaccination, the number of
deaths from measles has dropped since 2016 to less than 100,000 deaths per year
compared to the year 2000 when 500,000 children were killed by measles. Despite
these global efforts, much remains to be done in contexts where, like in
Cameroon, measles epidemics occur at cyclical intervals (every 3 years) and
where access to immunization services does not always reach every child and
throughout the whole period required for their protection.
It should be noted
that mothers make over 90% of health decisions for children on their own
or
jointly with their children and/or partners. In any case, even though
the gender roles are changing in this society, mothers still remain the
key decision-makers for health-related issues for children. We need to
recognize the intensity of stress that mothers feel when they must make
decisions that directly affect their children’s well-being. In such
emotion-laden circumstances, individuals’ tendency to choose a status
quo option—inaction, or refusing to take any action at all—increases
disproportionately. So, they end up with the non-decision, “let’s wait
and see,” which is manifested in “vaccine hesitancy.” The intense
stress that mothers experience when making vaccination decisions is a
crucial factor that increases their tendency to delay or deny
immunizations for their children.
It is with this in mind that Cameroon proposes to organize a measles and rubella vaccination follow-up campaign coupled with the introduction of the second dose of the combined measles and rubella vaccine (RR) in its national immunization program. These interventions will help the country to:
improve on the mother and child health;
attain
and maintain the objective to eradicate Measles;
limit the
incidence of congenital malformations due to Rubella and to accelerate the
progress toward the control of these potentially deadly diseases.
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