Society

At launch of awareness-raising campaign in Yaounde: Leaders encourage women to take cervical cancer vaccine.

by Mercy Fosoh
06 Nov 2024 19:13
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Leaders at the launching of campaign

Religious and community leaders have urged women who are reluctant to accept vaccination against cervical cancer to be more courageous and take the injection as it is the most effective way of fighting the disease.
This was during an awareness-raising campaign that was launched in Yaounde, recently.

The campaign was organised by the Council of Imams and Muslim Dignitaries of Cameroon, CIDIMUC, with the support of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, EPI.

As explained by EPI officials, the campaign was organised in response to persistent resistance to the vaccine within communities. They added that these fears are fuelled by preconceived ideas and fake news posted on social networks, hence the choice to work with religious, community and association leaders who are recognised as having the ability to influence the decisions of those in their care.

At the event, EPI officials presented the characteristics and ravages of the silent disease that strike young women.

According to the General Coordinator of CIDIMUC, Dr Moussa Oumarou, religious, community and community leaders have a major role to play in overcoming the misinformation at the root of vaccine hesitancy.

“You can't talk about health without talking to these community leaders. Meetings like these are about having the same level of information. It's about opening the doors to the vaccination teams. We want our work to lead to widespread support for the vaccine. And that we all become ambassadors and defenders of young Cameroonian girls,” he said.

During the discussions, both EPI officials and the leaders agreed that direct awareness-raising among the population should be stepped up, as a prerequisite to the deployment of vaccination teams. The success of this project also depends on raising the awareness of all those involved.

“Sometimes, it's we ourselves who reinforce the rejection of the vaccine through certain attitudes and comments. I think we too need to be sufficiently equipped to better understand the issues and know what to say to the people we represent,” Imam Oumarou Ayouba underscored as a representative of the Islamic Cultural Association of Cameroon.

At the end of the launch, CIDIMUC officials announced that a similar event will be organised in Douala in the coming days.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3282 of Wednesday November 06, 2024