ReliefWeb

Summary : CHF 142,268 was allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 23 January, 2012 to support the Cameroon Red Cross (CRC) National Society in delivering assistance to some 1,170,253 beneficiaries.

A yellow fever epidemic broke out in Cameroon in October 2011, with 17 suspected cases recorded, two confirmed positive, and three deaths reported, leading to a lethality rate of 17.6%. In response to this situation, a mass immunization campaign was initiated by the Cameroon government in the 8 affected health districts of the North region, with the active participation of the Cameroon Red Cross national society. These health districts are Guider, Bibemi, Mayo Oulo, Golombé, Lagdo, Gashiga, Garoua I and Garoua II. A total of 1,132,472 people were vaccinated. The role played by Cameroon Red Cross volunteers, who had been trained earlier in community-based health and first aid (CBHFA), during this period helped to improve immunization coverage and significantly reduce the number of cases that abandoned routine immunization. Among the 8 health districts concerned, 4 of them (50%) experienced some improvement in their immunization coverage rate between February and May 2012, and 6 (75%) experienced a significant decrease in the number of cases that abandoned routine immunization.