Polio Vaccination : This Is Not Time To Let Down Guard!

In the annals of the fight to eradicate poliomyelitis in Cameroon, June 18, 2020 will for long remain indelible. In the hearts of those directly and indirectly involved. It was on this date that Cameroon and partners like the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and others - after years of relentless and concerted efforts - succeeded in ridding the country of the wild polio virus. And the country proudly received its certification from the World Health Organisation, WHO. More than two months after - on August 25 August 2020 - Africa was also declared polio-free. 
These are not negligible gains, no doubt. But experts warn that this is not the time to relax efforts. For, doing so could result in resurgence. It is for this reason that Cameroonian star rapper, Stanley Enow, on Tuesday, September 8, 2020, began a three-day field tour of the Littoral and Centre Regions to sensitise women on the need to continue to vaccinate their children aged five and below against polio. The tour precedes local polio vaccination campaigns in the Far North, North, Adamawa, East, Centre and the Littoral Regions from September 18-20, 2020 and October 9-11, 2020. 
Enow began his sensitisation by vaccinating babies in the Bonanloka neighbourhood of Bibamba in Douala on September 8, 2020. He also visited some local homesteads where he encouraged women to ensure that their children are always vaccinated against the disease. “The polio virus is real. I am lucky to be admired by many people in Cameroon and internationally. I love children and will like to see them in good health,” Enow stressed. 
“I will not have any fans if they are not in good health. For a better tomorrow and because the future begins today, we decided to join the big UNICEF family to ensure that all Cameroonian children are vaccinated against polio,” Stanley Enow told the crowd. The Bonanloka traditional chief, Suaibou, described the rain that characterised the whole ceremony as “a blessing to eradicate polio.”       
The field tour continued in Boumnyebel in the Nyong and Kelle Division of the Centre Region on September 9, 2020. Where Stanley sensitised on the disease and met Veronica Choh, the mother of Choh Rejoice – a four-year-old child – who recently survived ...