The Minister of Public Health, Malachie Manaouda, launched the campaign last week for children aged between 9 months and 5 years.
According to the EPI, 100 of the 200 health districts across the country are affected by the measles epidemic. More than 5,000 cases have been reported, and 18 deaths have been recorded. This does not include cases circulating in the community without being referred to health facilities.
According to the governor of the Centre region, “In the Centre region in particular, 28 of the 32 health districts are experiencing a measles epidemic, and 9 deaths have been recorded since the start of the year”.
In response, a measles and rubella vaccination campaign was launched on Wednesday 5 July. The campaign is targeting a total of 5.5 million children. This initiative comes after recurrent outbreaks of measles epidemics since the beginning of the year.
In Yaounde, the official launch ceremony for the Centre region took place at the Ekoudou public school in the Yaoundé 2 district. Chaired by Governor Paul Naseri Bea, the ceremony was marked by speeches and the vaccination of several children.