Djeneba, a fervent advocate of vaccination
31-years-old Djeneba is aware of the benefits of the vaccination for her child after being sensitized on the importance of the immunization. But today, she is anxious. Amadou, her four-month-old baby must receive 3 thigh vaccines. In addition, Djeneba must receive the tetanus vaccine.
“Djeneba Cissé!”, the nurse called. Djeneba raised her hand, picked up her baby, snuggled him against her shoulder and met the nurse at the entrance of the consulting room. The nurse handed her the child’s health record book and brought her into the immunization room.
A few minutes later, she came out, smiling. Djeneba is now happy, her child has received vaccines against measles, rubella and the pentavalent vaccine which protects against 5 diseases.
Djeneba follows up of the vaccination schedule and she never misses the vaccination sessions despite the farm work. Since Amadou’s birth, Djeneba takes her baby for monthly health check-and to make sure he receives his vaccinations on time. She must cross ponds and take muddy roads, especially during the rainy season, to get to the urban medical centre located at 30 minutes walk from her house.
“When I gave birth to my first child 10 years ago, I was often absent from weighing so my child did not have the necessary vaccines for an efficient immunization. One day he suddenly fell ill. He had a fever and a rash. He had caught measles. We took him to the hospital, and he was fortunate enough to recover without any damage”, recalls Dejeneba. “However, my neighbour, whose child had the same disease almost at the same time, died. This is what motivated me to strictly adhere to the immunization schedule and rely on its ability to protect against disease.”
The urban medical centre is in sector 5 of Dori city, Sahel region, on the Sebba-Dori axis. It covers 4 sectors of the city of Dori and 9 other villages. The most distant village is Koria, 15 km away from the medical center. From Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. and noon, mothers flock to the medical centre to have their children vaccinated. Moreover, health workers from the medical centre also visit the villages to vaccinate the children.
According to Dr Doriane Zongo, head of the urban medical centre, attendance by mothers for the vaccination of children has not significantly decreased despite the health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the security situation.
She admits having been afraid at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak when the health structures were subjected to special control measures to limit the spread of the virus, especially in hospitals of major cities of the country. The suspension of mass vaccination on 27 March by the government to comply with the directives of physical distancing and the rumor spread on social media on the existence of an anti-COVID-19 vaccine that might lead to infertility, had put doubt in some parents who became reluctant to vaccinate their children.
“Parents would hide their children when we went to vaccinate them in the villages. When asked why, community-based health workers said that there is a video circulating in the village saying not to have children vaccinated because it is a COVID-19 vaccine that is being administered to children,” says Dr Zongo.
To counter the rumor, discussion sessions with the communities were organized, and radio messages broadcasted to explain that these are the same vaccines they already know that are used to protect children from diseases, with the support of Dori Health District.
The security situation in the Sahel region also impacts negatively essential health services, including immunization. In villages still accessible, visits from health workers from the urban medical centre allow children to continue receiving the vaccines. Awareness-raising activities, followed by vaccination, are initiated if the coverage proves unsatisfactory in some remote areas. “The advanced strategy of vaccination in remote areas is our biggest challenge in this difficult security context and we hope that we can continue to do so for the lives of children in these localities “ said Dr Zongo.
UNICEF is working with the government of Burkina Faso to improve the vaccination coverage and save lives through the delivery of vaccines to inaccessible remote areas despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficult security situation.
Thanks to the financial support of Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation, UNICEF was able to procure 100,500 doses of measles vaccine for the Ministry of Health to immunize 100,500 children.
