The Government of Cameroon, concerned about the well-being of its populations, has launched the 4th round of the National Vaccination Campaign against the Covid-19 pandemic. This other round is organized at the backdrop of the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted economies and retarded social progress in countries around the world. Above all, it exposed the fragility of health systems and their inability to adapt and respond effectively to unexpected crises.
For Cameroon, the response
to this pandemic must be transformed into an opportunity to strengthen the
health system, improve preparedness for future health crises, and above all to
affirm its participation in global, regional and national mechanisms for
expressing solidarity and international cooperation.
The World Health
Organization (WHO), in collaboration with other partners and governments, has
supported global efforts that have resulted in the rapid development of
effective vaccines against Covid-19. The
COVAX facility was established to ensure equitable access to these vaccines for
all countries of the world. At the
regional level, the African Union initiative was also created with the ambition
of covering at least 60% of the African population by 2022 through a mechanism
for pooling vaccine costs and demand among member states. At the national
level, Cameroon has taken advantage of bilateral cooperation with other state
partners and international institutions for better access to funding and
vaccine doses.
Cameroon received the
first doses of vaccine on 11 April 2021 thanks to bilateral cooperation with
the People’s Republic of China. Vaccination was introduced into the response
mechanism on 12 April 2021 as an emergency with a minimal level of preparation
given the epidemiological context of April 2021, marked by the 2e wave of the
pandemic. Subsequently, Cameroon received additional doses of vaccine from the
COVAX facility and the African Union Initiative, which now enables it to meet
the current demand for vaccines by counting on subsequent increasing
allocations.
In the initial phase of
vaccination, the priority target groups of health workers, people living with
co- morbidities and people aged 50 and over were targeted exclusively.
Subsequently, the government decided
to extend the
offer of vaccination
to people aged
18 and over,
without changing the above-mentioned order of priority. To
this end, 244 vaccination centres were selected to offer daily vaccination services
in all 190 health districts and three rounds of intensified vaccination
campaigns with deployment of mobile teams in all regions were organized.
As of 28 February 2022,
1,273,012 doses have been administered for 1,074,355 people who have received
at least one dose of vaccine, i.e. 7.8% of the target population, and 813,063
people who have been fully vaccinated, i.e. 5.9% of the target population. 2.9%
of the total population of Cameroon is fully immunized.
The overall goal of this fourth round is to
reduce morbidity and mortality from Covid-19 by vaccinating people aged 18
years and above with one of the three available vaccines.
Specifically, this other round of mass vaccination campaign against Covid-19 will involve:
• Community engagement meetings in all health areas;
• Ensuring
that political, traditional and religious leaders are informed in all communities;
• Administer at least 500,000 doses of vaccine (1.8% of the total
population) to people aged 18 and above.
• Actively
seek out and report any cases of IPM
• Ensuring effective vaccine management
• Ensure the reporting of all immunization data through the DH is
2.
• The strategies selected
for Covid-19 vaccination include:
• Routine immunization
with 840 immunization centres in 197 Health Districts;
- Periodic intensification campaigns in all Health Areas.
For vaccination against
Covid-19, given the specificity of the vaccine, its mode of administration, the
great variability of the target and the sites where it is enrolled, the country
has opted for a mixed strategy of service provision. It includes the organization of fixed strategies
in certain accredited health facilities and advanced strategies depending on
the context.
Vaccination centres have
been identified in each health district and will meet accreditation criteria
for this purpose:
• Availability
of qualified and trained personnel for vaccine management and delivery of immunization
services: a doctor and/or pharmacist, at least 2 nurses.
• The
availability of an approved cold chain for sufficient storage and preservation
capacity for vaccines.
Border health posts,
international immunization centres (IACs) will need to be upgraded to achieve
this accreditation.
Accredited immunization
centres can organize advanced strategies to reach the entire target population
in their coverage area. These include special sites such as elderly
facilities/associations, prisons, refugee/IDP settlements or camps, etc.
Epidemiology and status of
Covid-19 vaccination
As of 6 March 2022, there are 440,807,756 confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide and 5,978,096 deaths.
In Cameroon as of 02 March 2022, a total of 119,276 confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been recorded, with 1923 deaths. It also appears that the number of confirmed cases is falling in the fourth wave. However, this decrease does not protect us from the emergence of new variants or the occurrence of a new wave of epidemic.
1- Towards Media owners:
- Obtain their support for the dissemination of
true, reliable information and precise on the rationale for the introduction of
the Covid-19 vaccine;
Optimize communication
with the aim of informing people about the availability and free of charge of
the Covid 19 vaccine for target populations
- Promote a culture of citizenship by
supporting the MINSANTE in managing rumours and misinformation.
2- To opinion leaders,
associations and other groups religious and traditional leaders:
Raise awareness and
mobilize their communities to join the vaccination against Covid-19
- To contribute to the promotion of health-promoting
behaviours, namely - To be vaccinated
first in front of their communities;-
Encourage others to get vaccinated;-
Encourage targets to take the two required doses;- Disseminate key messages for immunization
in their communities
Coordinate the search of
lost persons in their communities;
- Supporting the MINSANTE
in the management of rumours and disinformation
- Participate in the organization
of vaccination sessions in the communities
3- To the Heads of Health
Training Encourage their staff to:
- Continuously build the capacity of their
staff on immunization against Covid-19;
- Be welcoming to other targets;
- Use simple words to provide information about
the Covid-19 and vaccination;
- Participate in the
management of rumours and misinformation;
- Get vaccinated first;
- Take Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)
measures at vaccination sites to avoid contamination with Covid-19.
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