At 50th anniversary celebration: Expanded Programme on Immunisation counts achievements.

According to Dr Tchokfe, the EPI, through the Ministry of Public Health and all its technical and financial partners, remains committed in the fight against all vaccine-preventable diseases in the country. 

He stated that: “In 50 years, we have achieved significant results, and we believe that during that time, EPI has contributed to the reduction of infant and neonatal mortality in Cameroon”.

According to Dr Tchokfe, the EPI, with its over 50 years of existence in the country, has remained consistent in the fight against epidemics, by associating it with vaccines to maintain long-term immunity.

The programme, he said, equally depends on its nationwide surveillance system to quickly detect any epidemic resurgences, so as to easily ensure the management of all suspected or confirmed cases in any part of the country.

The system, he noted, has helped the EPI to eradicate smallpox and also eliminate neonatal tetanus in Cameroon. 

Their strides in the fight against vaccine-preventable disease, Dr Tchokfe said, pushed the international community to salute Cameroon’s efforts in combating the circulation of wild poliovirus and controlling diseases like measles, yellow fever, diphtheria, and whooping cough.

These diseases, Dr Ndoula said, could cause many deaths, especially among children. He, however, regretted the fact that despite the successes of EPI in the country, their works still face some challenges among the population.

The EPI, he said, has issues with vaccine hesitancy in some communities. This, he said, became worst with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The outbreak of the pandemic and the various vaccines against the disease has pushed so many communities to lost trust in vaccines, causing so many people to become hesitant to have their children vaccinated,” Dr Tchokfe said.

A similar situation, he said, was observed with the launch of the vaccine against malaria earlier this year. EPI, he insisted, remains confident in its ability to overcome challenges by creating more awareness campaigns to convince the people to want to have their children vaccinated.

EPI, it should be said, was launched in 1974 by the World Health Organisation, WHO, to ensure equitable access to life-saving vaccines for every child, regardless of their geographic location or socio-economic status. 

According to the WHO, the celebration is an opportunity to fete the achievements, highlight the impacts of the lives on many children as well as work to eliminate shortcomings.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No3127 of Friday May 31, 2024