Next month, Cameroon will organise National Immunisation Campaign Days against polio.

Although the recent polio vaccination that took place in the Littoral, South West and Far North Provinces has been rated satisfactory, the Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda, says more efforts are still needed to free Cameroonian children from poliomyelitis. Yesterday during an Inter-Agency Coordination Committee (CCIA) meeting at the Ministry of Public Health, André Mama Fouda, announced that from May 30 to 1 June this Year, Cameroon will organise a National Immunisation Campaign against polio in all the health districts in the country. This will permit the government to protect all its children against poliomyelitis especially as the country is bordered by polio endemic countries.

At the end of the CCIA meeting, it was resolved that Cameroon will submit a demand to the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation for the introduction of a new vaccine in 2010. This vaccine will be against pneumocoques infections which are responsible for meningitis and pulmonary infections. Dr Emmanuel Nomo says pneumocoques infections cause 15 to 20 per cent mortality amongst children.

During the meeting, it was noted that the polio campaign organised three weeks ago was due to a case of polio discovered in Douala in the Littoral Province. Dr Emmanuel Nomo says this campaign was approximately satisfactory. Far North attained 100 per cent as the entire children ear marked for the campaign were vaccinated. But in the South West and Littoral Provinces only 91 and 80 per cent respectively of the targeted group was vaccinated. Health experts say heavy rain fall during the campaign period in the Littoral and South-West Provinces hindered health personnel from moving round to administer the vaccine.