Coronavirus Prevention, Control : The Succour Of Administrative Authorities

“We all remember the tension and anxiety created in the early days by the Coronavirus pandemic. Garoua Boulai Subdivision was not left out. This is why we continue to make efforts to contain the situation. Because government cannot do everything alone, the support from the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF and other partners, was warmly welcome,” Jean Patrick Abena, the Divisional Officer for Garoua Boulai in Lom and Dejerem Division of East Region, acknowledged.

Project Media Tour
Receiving a media tour team in his office on September 27, 2022, Abena said COVID-19 sensitisation has yielded good results. The journalists were in Garoua Boulai as part of a tour to assess the impact of the 12-month “Preventing and Responding to COVID-19 in Cameroon” project financed by USAID at the cost of 500,000 US dollars (about 334.5 million FCFA). With focus on urban centres, refugee and internally-displaced communities, the project covers the North West, South West and East Regions. It is implemented by the Ministry of Public Health in collaboration with UNICEF.

COVID-19 Contained
“Project efforts have brought the pandemic under control. We are happy about this and commend UNICEF, the American and Cameroonian governments, and all other partners for their contributions. Concerning the vaccination aspect of the project, the population is cooperating in spite of disinformation and suspicion. I personally led a team of those carrying out sensitisation. The figures are encouraging because Garoua Boulai Subdivision is seeing high rates of vaccination against COVID-19,” the DO reassured.     

Avoiding Hearsay, Rumour
“We help the public to understand that rumour or hearsay is not reality. We preached by example by being amongst the first set of people in the subdivision to be vaccinated. This was to assure the public, and they took us very serious. That is why majority of the inhabitants of Garoua Boulai Subdivision are vaccinated against COVID-19,” the administrator disclosed.

No Letting Down The Guard!
“We will continue to sensitise. Those who think COVID-19 is over must realise that the risks are still there. And that they must continue to respect preventive and all other measures recommended by government and the World Health Organisation, WHO. Partners should continue to offer support to our people to effectively fight the pandemic,” he appealed.   

Don’t Forget Other Diseases    
"Apart from Coronavirus, other diseases deserve continuous attention. These include water-borne diseases…. We are always ready to work with partners to facilitate their work. We are grateful for what has been done by USAID and UNICEF and are ready to welcome new initiatives,” the Divisional Officer for Garoua Boulai stressed.   
Cameroon has since March 2020 been grappling with successive waves of the Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant surge in new infections. On August 17, 2021, the World Health Organization, WHO, said it had reported no new COVID-19 cases and deaths in Cameroon. Bringing the total number of confirmed cases then to 82,454; with 1,338 deaths.

Prevention, Control Support
However, the risk of COVID-19 infections remains high, as only 0.3 per cent of the Cameroonian population is fully vaccinated. The international community, including USAID, other US government agencies; UNICEF and WHO, among others, have been mobilizing urgent financial support to assist Cameroon to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19. Given that COVID-19 pandemic and related response efforts continue to evolve, UNICEF Cameroon committed to ensure that all USAID-funded activities are informed by evidence-based interventions and implemente...