Ngamdjakwa learned through the Community Health Worker that a vaccination campaign would be organised in Kaola, a community in her neighbourhood in Yagoua Health District, Far North Region of Cameroon. She decided to forgo farm work to take her 45-month-old daughter, Fighter, for the life-saving vaccine. “I kept postponing taking Fighter for vaccination, and when I had the opportunity to travel to Bougaye Health Facility, I was told she had passed the age to be vaccinated,” Ngamdjakwa explained.
Bouyage Health Facility focused on implementing the routine immunisation calendar that vaccinates children from zero to twenty-three months. Though the catch-up plan covers children till 59 months, the facility does not plan for such sessions due to limited resources.
Ngamjakwa attributed the delays to wrong prioritisation. She defended herself by saying she could not afford the transportation cost to travel over 30 km to the closest health facility to vaccinate her child.
The RAISE for Sahel team worked with the hospital administrators to follow up on the catch-up vaccination calendar as stipulated, ensure they had adequate supplies to cover the extra children and capacitated the Community Health Workers in Kaola to educate the population on the vaccination calendar and it target population. Thanks to these activities, Ngamdjakwa learned that her child was at risk of an epidemic outbreak and that she could salvage the situation. “I panicked when I realised my child could die from vaccine-preventable diseases. I had seen children die or develop complications in my communities, but I did not understand why.” Fighter’s mother worried.
On the day of the outreach organised in Kaolo, Ngamjakwa, left early to the announced site. She was the first to arrive at the venue. “I was informed it would start at 8 a.m., but I just couldn’t wait at home again.” Fighter was amongst the first of the 25 zero-dose children vaccinated on that faithful day.
“Thank you for giving my daughter a chance to be protected” Ngamjakwa beamed. Thanks to the GAVI Zero Dose Immunisation Project implemented in Cameroon, unimmunised children in hard-to-reach, underserved communities like Kaolo can now pride themselves on their immunity against vaccine-preventable diseases.
