Covid-19 vaccine in Cameroon: which, when, where to get the jab

By Leocadia Bongben

Cameroon is getting set to receive the Chinese vaccine, Sinopharm which would be the first after suspending the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.  

By April 11 Cameroon would receive 200,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine, the fruit of the Sino-Cameroon relations. 

According to the permanent secretary of the Enlarged Immunization Programme, PEV Dr. Tchokfe Shalom Ndoula, the distribution and storage plan is ready in the ten regions. 

“There are 522 centres in health districts in all the ten regions. For a start in Yaoundé, three sites would be specially opened for vaccination-the Conference centre, sports complex and the national museum. 

We are ready after three months to have made all the arrangements to receive the vaccine to be stored in PEV facilities, Ndoula explained.

Efficacy of the Chinese vaccine

WHO experts have say Sinopharm is good for Covid-19 symptoms and is 79 percent efficient. 

Vaccination is the best way to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus, experts agree. 

Other countries that have received the Chineses vaccine are Mauritania, Congo-Brazzaville, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal,  Seychelles and Zimbabwe. 

Copyright:WHO

The Scientific Council and the National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group proposed three vaccines, the Oxford AstraZeneca, the Chinese Sinopharm and the Russian Sputnik V.

For now nothing has been said of how many doses of Sputnik V, only that Cameroon has an agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund that claims the vaccine is 91.6% effective. 

Government had to suspend the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine following suspicion of blood clots among other side effects. 

As of April 1, Cameroon confirmed a total of 57 337 cases, 4717 active cases, 51 769 recoveries and 851 deaths.  

https://twitter.com/drmanaouda/status/1377661292455018504?s=21

Voluntary vaccination

According to the Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie, the target is frontline workers-health personnel, persons above 50 years with co-morbidity. 
He insisted vaccination is targeted and voluntary in the phases of allegations that a bill is underway to make vaccination obligatory.

Cameroon-kidney patients turn to strikes as ‘Lifeline’to treatment

Lucy Zambo, kidney patient

Dialysis kits arrived on Monday, March 5 at 18:00 CAT following the road block by kidney patients of the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital.

“We have started dialysis, Lucy Zambo one of the kidney patients said.
The kits arrived after the about a score of patients blocked the road in front of the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital demanding for dialysis kits. 

It took the heavy downpour to send them away for smooth circulation of vehicles and people to resume.

But for how long is present stock going to last, Lucy and other patients have this question which for now is hanging in the air. 

“We want to live, we have a right to life also, Lucy one of the striking kidney patients, looking emaciated with bumps on her arms said. 

“We have blocked the roads here because for the past two weeks, we have not been able to get a single dialysis session. We are losing the sick, 15 children have already died from lack of dialysis”. 

The kids are not as resistant and the older people, Lucy added.

This is the ordeal of kidney patients at the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital in capital capital city. 

The impact of the shortage of dialysis kits is that patients like Irene Ojong Obi cannot send out waste. 

“Only dialysis helps to remove urine from my body, I can’t eat, I vomit and my body runs short of blood”, Obi, kidney patient said.

Shortage of dialysis kits has been a constant problem of kidney patients in this hospital and which has forced them to use strikes as a lifeline to treatment.

Last year after a similar strike action, the hospital repaired the existing six machines which for now are not enough for the 120 patients who by right should go through dialysis thrice a week. 

The shortage of kits and break down of machines is not peculiar to Yaoundé, Ebolowa to Bamenda, the patients have been on the streets to force government to look into their plight. 

 Health Minister, Manaouda Malachie recently sent 8 machines to Bamenda after the patients threatened to take to the streets. 

Though government has subsidized treatment for kidney patients who pay Fcfa 5000 per dialysis session instead of hundreds of thousands, having constant access to machines and kits remain a big challenge. 

A number of questions remain unanswered as the Director of the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital is not reachable.

 Why can’t the hospital plan for kits supply taking into account the number of patients? Why can’t requests be managed ahead of time? What strategy to put an end to the constant stock-outs.

Covid-19 treatment: Why traditional medicine in Cameroon may wait longer for approval

With the outbreak of Covid-19, some traditional healers and herbalists came up with many concoctions claiming to treat the Coronavirus.

Government is actually accompanying some traditional healers and their drugs especially that of the ArchBishop of Douala, Samuel Kleda.

Kleda once declare, “Africa has something to offer against covid-19, we gave the treatment to hundreds of patients and no one died”.

Doctors of Catholic hospitals claim it is treating Covid-19 but the mixture like many others is still far from being approved by government.

The man of God has been using herbs for the past 30 years but for the recent herbal medicine against covid-19, approval may follow a long process.

But why the imbroglio when many are rushing to be treated?

Doctor Rose Ngono Mballa Director of the National Drug Quality and Valuation Laboratory, LANACOME explains.

A traditional healer as defined by the WHO is someone recognized by the community to have a gift to treat people. He does not need to advertise as the community knows what he can do.

But to Mballa Ngono, the problem today is that many people are claiming they are traditional healers, they have documentation and can treat everything.

she maintains that when a traditional doctor decides to put a mixture of plants, mineral products in a container and calls it a drug, he has to ensure the quality of the product.

That is the work of the national control laboratory to ensure the quality of the product through physical and chemical tests and microbiological analysis.

“The procedure for medicine fabrication are pharmaceutical operations that respond to a certain number of exigencies, quality ,expiration very important for the security of the patient”, she explain.

There is always the problem of toxicity and contaminants to deal with in the process, she added.

Mballa Ngono explained the procedure for valuation of traditional medicines to media experts, member of the Cameroon Association of Science Journalists, SciLife. 

Covid-19 vaccine:Cameroon turns to Sputnik V after AstraZeneca

Cameroon health minister has approved Sputnik-V against Coronavirus, Russia Direct Investment Fund has reported on its site.

The site indicates that Sputnik ranks second among coronavirus vaccines globally in terms of the number of approvals issued by government regulators.

The vaccine has been approuved for use in 53 countries including Kenya, Namibia and Ghana.

The aproval comes after the Cameroon Scientific Council advised government to be cautious of AstraZeneca vaccine suspected to show side effects.

Some countries suspended the use of AstraZeneca due to blood clots amongst other allegations.

For now Cameroon has not made an official pronouncement on the vaccine, but government also had plans to purchase another vaccine outside AstraZeneca proposed under the Gavi Allaiance Covax facility.

Sputink-V according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund has shown to be over 90 percent efficient in severe cases of Covis-19.

Strong side effects related to the use of Sputnik V have no been registered, the site indicates.

https://bongben.wordpress.com/2021/03/19/astrazeneca-cameroon-scientific-council-puts-vaccination-on-hold/

AstraZeneca: Cameroon Scientific Council puts vaccine on hold

The Cameroon scientific council has cautioned government to put the Covid-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca on hold.

Cameroon was expected to receive the first consignment of the earmarked 2.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 on March 20.

This may no longer  be possible as the Scientific Council has implored government to exercise caution and stop the use of the vaccine for now. 

Reports that some European countries suspended the vaccine gave the government cool feet as health minister, Manaouda Malachie decided to seek advice from the scientific council.

According to the Scientific Council, the vaccination plan for now is targeted and not obligatory. 

In line with the epidemiology control, the variant in circulation and vaccination, experts proposed among others that: 

  • Screening centers be increased
  • Reactivation of occupational hygiene health committees
  • Codification of outpatient care
  • Establishment of a research platform for Covid-19

In a related meeting with traditional healers it was recommended the following:

  • Give grants  for LANACOME to analyze tradition drugs presumed to be reliable. 
  • For traditional healers to constantly refer COVID-19 patients to hospital early.
  • Give authorization for patients to be admitted in hospitals. 

Covid-19: Find out why UNHCR donated ambulances, respiratory kits to government


Refugees live in remote areas of Adawawa and the borders where health services are not the best thus, need to be strengthened.

Cameroon counts 420,000 refugees, 102 have tested positive so far, 62 recovered, two have died.

“Two refugees dying is too much, this could have been worse, had the UNHCR not taken measures to support government. Next step is to vaccinate them”.Olivier Beer, Cameroon High Commissioner for Refugees maintained.

It is against this backdrop that the UNHCR donated ambulances to areas where refugees are found to facilitate their access to health services for the treatment of Covid-19.

UNHCR donated 3 three ambulances, 181 oxygen concentrators, 04respirators, and 220 pulse oximeters.

According to the UNHCR Cameroon Representative, Olivier Beer said, “The donation is to strengthen government capacity to assist refugees and Cameroonians in the same location when they  have symptoms of Covid-19”. 

The donation adds to the numerous efforts by the agency to better the lives of refugees.

The agency has been able to build isolation blocks in some hospitals in the localities hosting refugees in Garoua Boulai, Batouri, Meganga, and Mokolo. 

Public Health Minister, Manaouda Malachie hailed the constant support from the UNHCR and promised the beneficiary localities will make good use of the equipment. 

Manaouda promised that refugees as a priority group would be among the first to be vaccinated once the vaccine is available. 

For now Cameroon is being cautious following the suspension of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine in some European countries due to suspected side effects, like blood clots.

AstraZeneca: Will Cameroon continue with the vaccine, key facts

Cameroon is yet to decide if the country would vaccinate its population with the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine or not. 

Since some European countries like Sweden, Norway suspended the vaccine due to blood clots and suspected deaths there has been a debate on whether or not Cameroon should push ahead to receive the vaccine.

Other West African countries, Ghana, Nigeria have received and already begun immunization, but Cameroon is still hesitant.

Health Minister, Manaouda Malachie said he had consulted the Scientific Council concerning the vaccine but, their response is not yet to be known. 

However, the minister maintained, “the Cameroon government will not go ahead with the vaccine that is problematic elsewhere, and has serious side effects”.

Nigerian health authorities have said shock and comma are some of the side effects but they are common to all vaccines. 

Other side effects are fever, headaches, shivers and body pain gradually disappear in days. 

Who is eligible for the jab in Cameroon?

According to health authorities, health workers, Cameroonians above 50 years with co-morbidity, vulnerable people and teachers would be among the first to get the vaccine. 

Government insists only those who volunteer would take a jab. This comes after a document from the health ministry suggested rendering the vaccine compulsory. 

Cameroon is among 92 countries to receive the vaccine free. The country is entitled to a total of 2.5 million doses of AstraZeneca capable of vaccinating only 22 percent of the population. 

The first consignment of over a million doses would be received  from the Gavi Alliance under the Covax Facility. 

When will Cameroon receive the vaccine?

Cameroon had to fulfill a number of conditions; have a reliable storage chain, monitor and identify hospitals to evaluate the side effects. The country was expected to have met the conditions up to 80 percent last week.

Health minister, Manouda Malachie announced, on March 05, said the vaccine would be in Cameroon in two weeks and the clock is ticking.  

How early Covid-19 responses ignored persons with Disabilities

By Leocadia Bongben

What distance can a person with visual impairment keep as a measure of curbing the spread of  Covid -19 ? What does the washing of hands represent for people with mobility challenges?

These and many more,  were the questions absent from early responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The world was shocked from a slumber by the out break of the Coronavirus pandemic that spread across the world like a wild fire.

Experts say Covid-19 is an acute respiratory illness in humans caused by a coronavirus, capable of producing severe symptoms and in some cases death, especially in older people and those with underlying health conditions. It was originally identified in China in 2019 and became pandemic in 2020.


Different countries and governments tried various treatment protocols, but preventive measures are deemed as the likely measure to keep the virus at bay.

However, these measures according to Comfort Mussa, media person and Advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities, were disability blind

“Maintaining social distance does not translate to everybody, how can this be communicated to people who cannot see, what does the distance looks like? What does hand washing mean for people with mobility challenges, for people who need caregivers?,  she quizzed. 

According to her, Covid-19 early national responses from government and civil societies left out persons with disabilities. 

“Covid-19 is still around and would not be over for any body until it is over for everybody. The voices of people with disabilities are still missing where policies are made. Unless you live with people with disabilities, you cannot think about their needs in planning”, Mussa said.

Comfort Muss was part of ‘People of Commonwealth critical conversations on ‘Equity and Justice in Covid-19 Responses’, skillfully moderated by Hilary Ghedemah-lawyer with 44 years of experience in academia , legal practice, advocacy, national and international policy.

Experts on the occasion identified the weaknesses in the responses, ranging from the non inclusion of persons with disabilities, to how the pandemic deepen existing poverty, especially through lockdowns and curfews.  

Some measures like lockdowns created even more problems for women such as increase domestic and gender violence with confinements.

Panelists from, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and other countries all agreed that women were experiencing the pandemic differently from men.

Women and persons with disabilities should be given a space at the decision making table for them to contribute to meaningful changes in the Covid-19 response, panelists concluded.

The ordeal of kidney patients in Cameroon

With cranky look faces, they marched to the streets, blocked roads. At other times they marched to the health ministry to push for the repair of the life sustaining machines. 

Without these blood purifying machines and kits, these patients develop complications and die sooner. 

Many like Ojong Irene have known the pain of not being able to pass out urine without machines, hence have to go for long hours without eating for fear of accumulating waste in their systems.

Watch: 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾
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Source BBC News Pidgin



Cardiologist Advises On Voluntary, Regular Heart-checks

By Leocadia Bongben

To prevent, avoid or postpone premature deaths, Prof. Samuel Kingue President of the Cameroon Cardiac Society urges Cameroonians to, “Take the initiative to go to hospital or a pharmacy to check the blood pressure and sugar level. With about FCFA 1000, one can know the state of the heart and health”.

Many people have high blood pressure yet do not know, and should not wait for free heart screening campaigns to check the health of their hearts, Kingue said during a ceremony at the Ngousso Public School to mark the World Heart Day on September 29.

The day was celebrated under the theme, “I protect my heart and that of my family” with the Minister of Public Health Represented by the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Public Health, Alim Hayatou.

Stakeholders at World Heart Day Celebration

It was an occasion for the Cardiologist to send out heart health tips to the population following the weeklong free screening carried out.

98 adults both staff and other Cameroonians were tested, revealing 19 cases of high blood pressure, 11 who did not know.

Also,1791 younger children who have a high probability of heart malformations were screened in a school of 2,599 pupils.  39 cases were suspected and further tests using high performant equipment, with precision revealed 9 cases of congenital malformations which presently do not require surgery. So, Kingue advised parents to take the children to the hospital for further treatment.

Against this backdrop, the Cardiologist underscored the importance of paying attention to children as he cautioned, “if they complain, don’t wait, feeling pain in the throat, cure with antibiotics”.

Professor David Wood, Cardiologist and President of the World Heart Federation in a message on World heart Day said, “We cannot underestimate the global importance of good heart health – 31% of all deaths worldwide are from CVD.

According to the World Heart Federation, WHF, CVD claims 17.5 million lives every year figures expected to reach 23 million by 2030. Worldwide, 1 in 10 people aged 30-70 die prematurely from CVD, including heart disease and stroke but the good news is that at least 80% of these premature deaths could be avoided or postponed.

Many people are not as lucky as the two football icons, Jean Paul Akono Sidney Olympic Gold Medallist in 2000 and Rigobert Song Bahanag legendary captain who survived heart diseases.

These two have been awarded certificates of chivalry and are now ambassadors of Cameroon Cardiac Society awarded these two certificates of chivalry and made them their ambassadors to sensitise other on cardio vascular diseases, CVD.

Created and led by the WHF the World Heart Day aims to combat the rising number of people with cardiovascular disease (CVD), the world’s biggest killer, by raising awareness and promoting the importance of living a heart-healthy lifestyle.

It is for this reason that the World Heart Federation Boss said, “World Heart Day is our chance to bring people together to tackle the world’s biggest killer and urge more people across the globe to improve their heart health. The power to change is in our hands. Making lifestyle changes such as eating more fruit and vegetables, keeping active and stopping smoking can save millions of lives.”

This year, the “WHF is urging people to act by sharing heart healthy tips and attending iconic illumination events. We can all ‘share the power’ and inspire our families, friends and communities around the world to make the small lifestyle changes that can make a powerful difference to heart health,”.

WHF Tips for a heart-health

  • Become more active: Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intense activity five times a week.
  • Remember even small things like taking the stairs or getting off the bus early can help
  • Stop smoking – this is the single best thing you can do to improve your heart health.
  • If you need help try speaking to a health professional, such as a high street pharmacist
  • A more balanced diet: Try to eat 5 portions (about a handful) of fruit and veg a day
  • Get your children involved in cooking to help them learn about healthy eating
  • Get your blood pressure checked regularly