Following fresh polio outbreak the Cameroon Minister of Public Health, Dr Malachie Manaouda has announced that as from April 23rd to t 25^th, there will be vaccination campaign that targets 6M infants. This outbreak comes less than a year since the country was certify polio-free las August.

It was following the discovery of 16 cases of type 2derived poliovirus that the government of Cameroon re-embarks on the journey of vaccination. To reinforce their immunity, children ranging between the ages of 0 to5 years old will be given the Oral Polio Vaccine across all the ten regions.

For proper administration of this vaccine that contains Vitamin-A supplementation for children from six to fifty-nine months and de-worming for those from twelve to fifty-nine months, the health authorities have urged parents to let these children be vaccinated.

What increased the risk for polio to reappear is the cancelling of the 2020 polio campaign due to the Coronavirus, according to Dr. Shalom Tchokfe, Permanent Secretary at the Expanded Program on Immunization.

Prior to the administration of two droplets of the Oral Polio Vaccine to each child, health agents will engage in a door-to-door sensitization on the importance of the vaccine in homes, hospitals, markets and churches among other areas.

It should be recalled that it was on August 25^th, 2020 that Prof Rose Leke, Chairperson of the Africa Regional Certificate Commission for Polio Eradication declared the African continent free of the wild polio virus.

 Announcing the major success, she handed the certificate to the WHO Representative, Dr. Phanuel Habimana in a ceremony at the Public Health Ministry in Cameroon.

Prof Leke had said, “Today, we the members of the ARCC, having considered the criteria, conclude that indigenous wild poliovirus transmission has been interrupted in the WHO African Region.”

However, having acknowledged that it was a major breakthrough, Minister Manaouda had insisted that vaccination against this disease will continue. These were his words, “It’s a historic event. The risk of importing the virus from countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan is still possible. To prevent that, Cameroon will continue vaccination of children aged 0 to 59 months. Let’s celebrate this achievement by having our kids vaccinated, nationwide.”