Routine Vaccination :Coping With Refugees, Local Population

Garoua-Boulai Health District in Lom and Djerem Division of the East Region has a population of 80,000, made up of Cameroonians and a huge number of Central African Republic, CAR refugees.  Dr Tcheumaga Sylvaire, Head of Garoua-Boulai Health District says the level of vaccination coverage in the area is now about 90 per cent. He explains that local people are gradually buying the idea of vaccination.

Nevertheless, the health district faces two major challenges. “We transport vaccines by public transport from the regional capital, Bertoua – a distance of 250 km. This is risky because if the bus breaks down on the way, vaccines could be damaged before alternative transport is gotten. The health district therefore needs a pickup van to facilitate its work,” Dr Tcheumaga noted. 

He appealed for a building to be constructed for Garoua Boulai Integrated Frontier Health Centre that covers a population of 12,656 people and 1,266 children. For now, it uses the premises of the defunct water corporation, SNEC, which is about to be repossessed by the owners. “The health centre does not have any staff. The lone person working there was transferred by me from another local health facility. On vaccination day, we use G...