are protesting against Chinese gold miners for allegedly ruining their land The villagers say they are poorer than before the Chinese arrived with their farms and forests now destroyed Area cattle ranchers and farmers say that if nothing is done to save them from Chinese miners says the miners destroy farms and do not bother to cover holes and trenches they dig on roads and ranches before leaving He says they want the Chinese to build the roads they destroyed and fill the trenches they dug give them electricity and at least a school and a market before leaving Recent years have brought a yellow fever resurgence to Cameroon a targeted vaccination campaign pummeled the chain of transmission in seven especially vulnerable health districts If you would like to republish this article please follow these steps: use the HTML below; do not edit the text; include the author’s byline; credit VaccinesWork as the original source; and include the page view counter script Neither Patrick Koulagna nor Moise Hamadjida both residents of Meiganga district in the Adamaoua region of central Cameroon It was enough to have seen their friends and neighbours struggle with the often-deadly infection: when a mid-April vaccination campaign was announced in their community "As soon as I learned that there was a vaccination campaign I got myself and my family members vaccinated I explained to my colleagues that the vaccine is very useful against this disease They understood and got vaccinated," he said and his entire family were among the first to receive the vaccine on the first day of the campaign Yellow fever manifests itself with vomiting I have already seen a neighbour suffer from this," he says which ran from the 10th to the 17th of the month  was staged with the goal of shoring up the defences of seven particularly vulnerable health districts in the Adamawa Vaccines rolled out to residents aged between 9 months and 60 years of age excluding pregnant and lactating women with infants younger than 9 months For a week, social mobilisers and vaccinators visited homes and public places, including schools, markets and places of worship, to administer life-saving vaccines to eligible groups, and raise awareness about the importance of yellow fever vaccination. This campaign follows a surge in cases and deaths from the disease since 2023 described as a "public health emergency" by the country's Ministry of Public Health For the worst-affected, the disease course is brutal. Symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, headache and vomiting. During a second, more dangerous phase feverish patients start to bleed from areas including their mouth or stomach Liver or kidney damage may follow; the 'yellow' in the name refers to the jaundice people often experience at this this stage Up to half of those who enter this second phase die within seven to ten days We've had a vaccine since the mid-1930s, when a "live attenuated" form of the virus The 17D vaccine received licensing approval in 1938, and is still in use today, with more than 850 million doses distributed worldwide so far. Recommended for those aged between nine months and 60 years, a single dose leads to long-term, probably even lifelong, immunity in 99% of people vaccinated, making it one of the most efficient and effective vaccines and the viral haemorrhagic disease kills some 30,000 people each year Read more: Vaccine profiles: Yellow fever Classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a country at high risk of yellow fever Cameroon has in fact seen an increase in positive cases of this disease since 2021 26 health districts out of the 200 in the country were considered to be experiencing an epidemic which represents a case fatality rate of 14.3% according to the report released by the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) which resulted in seven health districts being targeted for responsive vaccination: Djohong Meiganga and Tignère (Adamaoua region); Garoua 1 Gaschiga and Ngong (North); and Djoum (South) Justifying the timing and choice of these districts for this campaign who leads on the surveillance and response to vaccine-preventable disease epidemics in the EPI described the criteria for their selection to VaccinesWork: "the low vaccination coverage against yellow fever observed around the cases during in-depth investigations; the high immune gap in these districts; as well as the high probability of spread of the disease indicated by the presence of other suspected cases and the vector responsible for the transmission of yellow fever." the identified high-risk health districts were characterised by the presence of populations with specific needs "There is also the existence of significant population movements within these districts which could exacerbate the spread of the disease." was to effectively allocate resources and target interventions where they are most urgent to contain the epidemic and protect vulnerable populations The goal of this campaign was to halt the transmission of yellow fever in those seven priority health districts by rolling out vaccines to a target population estimated at 1,134,339 people Ninety-five percent of that target group would need to be vaccinated to stop transmission 95% of inhabitants would need to receive the government's health messaging the ultimate aim was to vaccinate the entire target population we will at least be able to achieve the objective," said Dr Mohamad Anouar al Sadat Al Sadat lauded the significant support from the population "Most of the hesitancy concerns the safety of the vaccine with all the misinformation we know about vaccination in general But after explaining the benefits of vaccination and the safety of the vaccine because we must protect the entire population especially since we do not know the extent of the situation due to our weak surveillance system It was also a great opportunity to raise awareness about yellow fever and take the opportunity to identify unvaccinated people and catch up on routine childhood vaccinations we reported two cases of yellow fever with one death which put the Meiganga health district in an epidemic situation," he explained The campaign was a "total success" in the Djoum Health District in the Southern region of Cameroon these figures represent 115% of the initial objective – meaning that the eligible population was in fact larger than pre-campaign intelligence had indicated "This campaign is an opportunity to eradicate yellow fever to seek collective immunity of the populations of Djoum and its surroundings especially since two borders [those of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea] are neighbours in the district," says the principal public health administrator "The population [turned out in massive numbers] thanks to good social mobilisation advocacy meetings held with administrative as well as community engagement meetings in all health areas," Medjo said "The few instances of hesitancy were managed we detected five suspected cases of yellow fever which were sampled [for laboratory confirmation]." the EPI plans to launch another response in the high-risk health districts of the city of Douala the main economic hub of Cameroon and the capital of the Littoral region This initiative aims to implement vector-control measures against yellow fever the city of Douala has recorded an increase in cases of this disease which is "very worrying" given the geographical location of the city "We continue to intensify surveillance activities for yellow fever throughout the national territory and other response measures could potentially be implemented depending on the analysis of the risk of spread around confirmed cases," indicated the EPI's Dr Ekoum Cameroon is among the first countries exposed to the risk of yellow fever epidemics mitigation measures must be implemented to avoid devastating outbreaks for our populations." This article was translated from the original French. To view the original click here to get the latest VaccinesWork news and features Subscribe Your input and time is valuable in helping us improve your experience Please take less than a minute to provide feedback on your visit Your input is important in helping us improve your experience Please take a moment to answer a few questions about your visit Aug 12 (UNHCR) – Humming from the speakers of a nearby mosque breaks the silence of the pitch-black night She closes the door behind her and snuggles her hands in her loincloth "I'm off to the fields to plant seedlings," she explained in French dotted with Sango Like many others who fled bloodshed in the Central African Republic (CAR) the former nursery school principal has had to reinvent herself since fleeing to Cameroon one year ago a city of 70,000 people in eastern Cameroon but knows few people and has managed mostly on her own "I earn between 500 to 750 CFA francs (0.75-1.10 euros) a day," she said Philomène is one of over 131,000 refugees from CAR who have sought safety in Cameroon since fighting erupted back home in December 2013 The influx has strained host communities and aid agencies alike yet funding for humanitarian assistance has barely reached 18 per cent of the US$ 145 million needed here this year UNHCR and its partners have had to make hard choices "The priority was to save lives," said Jose Katunda who heads the refugee agency's regional office at Adamawa UNHCR has been registering refugees and helping to move them safely away from the volatile border often to camps where humanitarian aid is provided This concentrated approach helps maximise the impact of assistance but also makes it difficult to reach those who have chosen to settle in scattered towns and villages along the border Half the CAR refugees in Cameroon are now living in camps linked to local villages free health care and a monthly food allowance But the other half has settled in towns and villages in the Eastern and Adamawa regions seeing it as a more dignified way of living their exile gravitated there because they lacked information about the camps these out-of-camp refugees are scattered across more than 300 different locations where international aid cannot always be made available we have had to concentrate our action in protective activities: refugees' registration and documentation," Katunda said UNHCR now encourages the settlement of refugees in local villages rather than in camps or sites where overcrowding can exacerbate social tensions To facilitate their integration and help them become self-reliant these refugees receive small loans to allow them to start business activities – particularly those who are isolated and vulnerable UNHCR also provides "assistance in the form household goods drinking water and food," which they often lack she has found limited work as a day labourer who is going to give me enough to live?," she said "They are already studying at the university in Bangui I'm alone here and I don't like that," she muttered ethno-religious communities assaulted each other Militia from the former Seleka burnt her house and killed several of her neighbours "To this day I still don't know whether my brothers are dead or alive." She only managed to save two loincloths and a copy of The Bible in which she keeps an old picture of her home Philomène finds solace in God and goes to church every Sunday Philomène holds no resentment towards her attackers "Muslims from Central Africa belong in Central Africa they too want to go home." She called on the international community to restore peace in her country "One thing is certain,I will vote in the presidential election scheduled for 2015 as my contribution for restoring peace" United Nations Volunteers from the Adamaoua and eastern regions of Cameroon gathered with UN partners at the Lolo refugee site for a series of awareness and capacity building activities as part of the celebration of World Humanitarian Day This was also an opportunity to pay tribute to the remarkable work accomplished by UN Volunteers in the humanitarian response It takes two hours to cover the 60 kilometers between Batouri the capital of the Kadey department to the Lolo refugee site Near the border with the Central African Republic (CAR) in the commune of Kentzou the camp hosts a population of over 13,000 refugees from CAR settled at the site from the beginning of 2014 UN Volunteers are at the forefront of humanitarian workers continuously supporting these vulnerable populations they improve the protection and empowerment of these refugees Marriane Enow Tabi from Cameroon serves as a UN Volunteer Monitoring Assistant in Meïganga with the World Food Programme (WFP) She is one 30 UN Volunteers who joined the celebration of World Humanitarian Day "This year Humanitarian Day celebrates humanitarian women I have seen firsthand how my colleagues who are women humanitarians act first in emergency situations They dedicate time and effort to support people in difficulty It is a great initiative to pay tribute and recognize their contributions UN Volunteer Monitoring Assistant with WFP The contributions of women humanitarian volunteers are well appreciated both in Cameroon and throughout West and Central Africa particularly those serving with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and WFP not only by the extent of their skills and experience but especially by the support and enthusiasm they bring They are very passionate about what they do I wish to welcome as many UN Volunteers as possible They bring a very effective added value to our priorities The UN Volunteers are doing work of the same quality and importance as our staff members Impact: improving income-generating activities A few meters from the refugee site of Lolo Saïdou Hadjaratou stands in front of a small boukarou (tent) which serves as a showroom woolen hats and small bags are arranged around the place handles the loincloth while pressing the pedal of the sewing machine She has been practicing this activity for two years now and helps her parents by making clothes after school hours.  especially women who volunteer to bring us support Their presence here uplifts us and gives us hope This is her main activity since she moved to Lolo refugee site five years ago with her entire family The problem today is that it has become more difficult to collect oil and caustic soda," Hapsatou regrets "It is gratifying to how UN Volunteers are willing to bring us solutions," Hapsatou says Call for humanitarian assistance to promote sustainable development nutrition and education needs remain a critical issue throughout the Lolo refugee site where more than 50 per cent of the population is under 18 and where women and girls make up more than half of the population the drastic reduction in financial resources during 2019 has had a major impact on the quality of humanitarian response both with refugee and host populations it is necessary to increase development initiatives for refugees from CAR (about 286,000 in Cameroon) who are living in East and Northern side of Adamaoua the UNV programme in Cameroon celebrated World Humanitarian Day with the vulnerable populations in eastern Cameroon and recognized the efforts of UN Volunteers UNV Scam Alert UNV Privacy Policy UNV Website Terms of Use Cameroon’s march toward reaching every child with life-saving vaccines has faced a cocktail of challenges despite high levels of support from the population Taking a day off from farm work for any reason is something Aïssatou Nabila from the village of Mbarang in the Meiganga district of Cameroon’s Adamawa region tries to avoid at any time – and it’s certainly not something she’s eager to do during the ongoing peak farming season But the 29-year-old mother-of-two quickly was willing to take a pause when an unexpected opportunity to have her children vaccinated against poliomyelitis showed up on a Saturday “I feel so happy having Trésor [two years old] and Fadimatou [six months old] vaccinated against polio; they felt very okay after taking the vaccine,” Aïssatou told VaccinesWork on phone “They are now up to date with their vaccination schedule.” The polio vaccination campaign was organised in the Adamawa and North regions of Cameroon – alongside neighbouring Chad Nigeria and Niger – from 22–25 November 2024 in response to the type 2 polio variant epidemic recently confirmed in the sub-region An estimated 3.5 million Cameroonian children aged 0 to 59 months among them those who missed one or more routine vaccination appointments received two drops of the oral polio vaccine This transnational polio vaccination campaign was a logical follow-up to a prior drive targeting at least 6 million Cameroonian children after falling from 86% to 81% over the course of the first year of the pandemic – and strengthen immunisation systems The first phase of this drive took place in Cameroon from 23–29 September targeting 80 of the country’s 204 health districts – those believed to be home to the highest number of zero-dose and under-immunised children children below five are administered one or more of the 15 vaccines found in Cameroon’s routine immunisation programme which include vaccines against killer diseases like tuberculosis the Big Catch-up is taking place at a time the central African nation is grappling with a resurgence of some vaccine-preventable illnesses Cases of measles were only recently confirmed in the Centre Littoral and West regions of the country – as was yellow fever in other regions Permanent Secretary of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in Cameroon the Big Catch-up is not just another vaccination campaign it is a strategy to find and vaccinate those children who have missed out on life-saving vaccines in the extraordinary years since 2019 Between 130,000 and 150,000 zero-dose children have been recorded in Cameroon every single year since 2019 The consequence: the country currently harbours more than 600,000 zero-dose children and more than 700,000 under-immunised children “The goal of the Big Catch-up is not to vaccinate all these children [at once] as this is impossible but to vaccinate a good number of them in order to achieve herd immunity,” Dr Ndoula tells VaccinesWork “That is why we have set an attainable objective: to vaccinate at least 70% of children aged between 12 and 23 months (i.e who missed out on their vaccination since last year); and also vaccinate 30% of children aged between 23 months and 59 months This gives us a total of about 271,000 children to catch up with by 2025,” he said the country has rolled out a national strategy of tracking catching and vaccinating zero-dose children wherever they may be found “Our findings reveal that zero-dose children are concentrated in three different zones in Cameroon,” reveals Dr Ndoula “The first zone includes those communities which are situated very far off from health services with irregular or inexistent vaccination services Health workers either need a canoe to get to these communities or are bound to walk many kilometres,” he said The second zone that harbours zero-dose children are disadvantaged urban areas dotted across the capital city Yaounde and other highly populated cities such as Douala and Bafoussam These zones have limited or no access to basic health services Growing insecurity in the country’s far-north (caused by Boko Haram insurgency) north-west and south-west (civil unrest) also breeds zero-dose children “Having known the different zones harbouring zero-dose children and reasons behind their inability to get vaccines we have developed different strategies: enlist social mobilisers and community health workers to beef up the existing health staff in a given health district and equipping them with necessary resources to get to hard-to-reach areas to vaccinate these children,” Dr Ndoula explains we bankroll associations to get to the neighbourhoods dialogue with parents and vaccinate their children we have tools that help us monitor our progress toward the attainment of set goals by knowing at every given moment the number of zero-dose children left.” This strategy has been replicated in different parts of the country with assorted outcomes head of the Meiganga health district in the Adamawa region estimates that some 98% of parents showed “adherence” – meaning they stepped up and were supportive of the drive’s aims – during the first phase of the Big Catch-up “Social mobilisers went from door to door to identify zero-dose children especially in hard-to-reach areas A preliminary list was drawn up by the heads of health facilities and given to vaccinators to find under-immunised children,” Anouar told VaccinesWork “Challenges included on-site management of teams and mobility-related problems such as limited or no means of transportation.” Down in Cameroon’s Littoral region – where vaccination coverage rates stand below 80% – barely 3,000 of the targeted 16,000 children from the four selected districts (Edea Dibombari and Mbanga) were vaccinated during the first phase of the Big Catch-up The health districts were selected because they have unimmunised children and hard-to-reach zones says field epidemiologist and EPI coordinator for the Littoral region He pins the dismal vaccination outcome on inaccessibility vaccine hesitancy and paucity of information “We had difficulty tracking these children given that the Big Catch-up is not just any normal door-to-door vaccination campaign,” Mr Ewane tells VaccinesWork on phone “We didn’t know where precisely to find these zero-dose children they are either children who are new in a given area; those whose parents are hesitant to have them vaccinated or simply children with no vaccination record the target we set may or may not tie with the local realities,” he said just 914 zero-dose children (out of identified 17,203) as well as 837 under-immunised children (out of identified 17,203) were vaccinated during the first phase of the Big Catch-up Only six of the region’s 21 districts were involved coordinator of the EPI and the Centre for Epidemics and Pandemics in the region says parents were happy to receive social mobilisation teams “Some areas which had never been covered due to the crisis could be covered thanks to the Big Catch-up,” Dr Chebo tells VaccinesWork [parents] were more happy since this activity was carried out right in their homes without having them move away from homes to vaccination posts poor electricity supply and poor road network,” he said door-to-door campaigns and school strategies led to the effective management of 97% refusal cases “The use of technical staff as social mobilisers gave a plus in the activity as [locals] have confidence in their nurses whom they meet in health facilities for other health interventions,” confirms Martha Ndiko Ngoe monitoring and evaluation at the EPI Regional Technical Group in Cameroon’s South West region “Districts also used the ‘evening strategy’ where the parents and caregivers are at home and can help the team to identify eligible targets and give their consent for vaccination especially where vaccination in the school milieu is challenging,” she told VaccinesWork (Business in Cameroon) - The Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) recently distributed 50,000 cashew seedlings to farmers in Meiganga the distributed plant material will help develop 500 hectares of cashew plantations.  This distribution is one of the results of the special funding prescribed in 2018 by the Head of State to help the IRAD produce cashew seedlings on a large scale for the promotion and development of the cashew sector in Cameroon.  In 2018 with the support of the German Cooperation the country introduced a cashew value chain development strategy for that purpose Although cashew nuts were introduced to Cameroon in the 1970s as part of a government program to combat desertification this cash crop adapted to hot zones is still little known in the country in view of the opportunities offered by cashew nuts Cameroon intends to use them to supplement cotton which is still the only cash crop grown in the country's northern regions (North Kribi Bitumen Plant Set to Start Construction in 2025 with Government Backing CEMAC Bond Market Hits CFA 8.45 Trillion in March 2025, Interest Rates Drop Cameroon’s Timber Output Projected to Rise in 2025 Despite Higher Export Taxes Central Africa Stock Exchange Sees 98% Drop in Trading Value in Q1 2025 Every week the economy and investment news from Cameroon Mboa Paris Trains 30 Young Cameroonians to Boost Tech and Entrepreneurship Cameroon Audit Targets Former Officials for Mismanagement in Agricultural Project Camwater Seeks Global Bids to Launch Bottled Water Lines in Five Cities Bafoussam Workshop Highlights Benefits of Cameroon-EU Trade Agreement Cameroon Could Reach 350,100 Tons of Cotton in 2025 (Beac) Paul Biya Appoints Johnny Razack as Chair of Cameroon’s National Investment Company Cameroon Refuses Work Visa Renewal for Casino and Super U Boss Over Toxic Workplace Claims Cameroon Joins Global Charter to Fight Illegal Fishing in Adamawa region carries the slogan: “Strong health a happy community life.” Under the coordination of Dr head of the Division for Studies and Projects at the Ministry of Public Health the campaign was named Lesdimèdèn meaning “Our Land“ According to the ministry’s communication officer the health campaign targets several major health threats including; malaria eye diseases such as cataracts and trachoma surgical issues requiring urgent intervention including osteoarthritis and inflammatory rheumatism particularly affecting children and pregnant women and HIV/AIDS and other diseases identified in the region Dr. Manaouda Malachie reassured beneficiaries and campaign organizers of the Ministry of Public Health’s full support He emphasized that despite the free nature of the services the medical care provided will be of the highest quality and will cover both central and decentralized health services The Meiganga Regional Annex Hospital will serve as the campaign’s main hub extending its reach across the Mbéré Department and surrounding areas According to numbers revealed by the ministry of health over 4,000 people across four different sites in the region have received medical consultation The Lesdimèdèn campaign is not only addressing immediate health concerns but also fostering long-term community well-being by tackling some of the most pressing health issues in the region les actualités camerounaises et la revue de presse Lebledparle.com à ne pas manquer Δdocument.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()) Actualité du Cameroun ce matinDr Manaouda MalachieMinistry of public health Lebledparle.com is a site dedicated to news in Cameroon news from Cameroon and all useful information analyzes and all the news in real time and continuously (Business in Cameroon) - The Cameroonian ministry of posts and telecommunications (Minpostel) is currenlty carrying out studies on the construction of 9 urban fiber optic loops in 7 regions The plan is to provide beneficiary localities with broadband internet Sources close to the matter indicated that the regions include Sangmélima and Kribi (South) the country pursues the territory coverage with this advanced telecom infrastructure which is already deployed in at least three capitals (Yaoundé The government is striding towards its target of 20,000-km fiber optic network by 2020 Let’s recall that just over 6,200 km has already been deployed and 4,000 km is currently being deployed.  Cameroon Launches Construction of New Gas Filling Center in Kumba Cameroon Launches New CFA15bn Bond Issue After Recent Success Cameroon Eases Port Procedures to Keep CFA350bn in Chadian Transit Trade Douala Doubles Water Storage in Key Districts with New Reservoir Cameroon’s Supreme Court Reaffirms Exclusive Authority Over Public Finance Management "11 of the World’s 20 Fastest-Growing Economies in 2025 Are in Sub-Saharan Africa" (Amadou Sy, IMF) Douala Airport Customs Seizes $2.3mln Worth of Cocaine Bound for India Douala Port Shares CFA2bn in Rebates with Shippers and Shipping Lines in 2024 New Sosucam CEO Faces Tough Start as Worker Tensions Linger Rubber Output in Cameroon Could Reach 59,100 Tons in 2025 (BEAC) Cameroon Could Hit Highest Cocoa Output in Over Five Years Cameroon and Chad to Inaugurate CFA74bn Cross-Border Bridge on April 28 Cameroon Ranks Last in Global Fiber Optic Development Index Cameroon’s Finance Ministry Denies Budget Fraud After Audit Flags Irregularities Mbam Bridge Project in Cameroon Reassigned to CFHEC, Budget Increased Alucam Faces Financial Crisis: Audit Calls for CFA43bn Recapitalization to Avoid Shutdown CSPH Begins Construction of Ebolowa Gas Filling Center, Expected to Open in 2027 Cameroon Turns to BEAC Market for CFA25bn as Interest Rates Surge Cameroon’s Natural Gas Output Expected to Jump 23% in 2025 After Slump