Bénin

Histoires vécues

Benin: On the move for immunization

The entire village waits impatiently under a big tree which serves as the public meeting place. It is sowing season in Sawlakpa village, Djidja district, and the community are eager to get to the fields, though not before their children have been immunized. Nicomede Olaye, the director of the Immunization Plus programme or Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in Djidja, and his nurse, Mireille Adjademe, arrive astride a Yamaha motorbike armed with a mini ice box of vaccines and other equipment all supplied by UNICEF.

The villagers weren't always as eager to vaccinate their children as they are today. At one time they were uncertain about the power of immunization. Then in 1994 the village was hit by a measles epidemic which changed everything. Thanks to the persistence of health workers, often going door-to-door, the villagers were encouraged to immunize their children on a regular basis.

Nicomede and Mireille administer the first shots to begin the session. One mother winces as she watches her baby cry. Another turns her head so as not to see the nurse push the syringe into her screaming baby's thigh. But Clementine, mother of the youngest baby, is courageous and watches her baby's vaccination without flinching. This is, perhaps, not an unusual response from Clementine. During her pregnancy, as there isn't a health clinic in the village, she received prenatal care at a maternity clinic located 10 km away in Abomey. Although the rainy season left the road between Sawlakpa and Abomey almost impassable, Clementine was determined to travel to the clinic in time for the birth of her baby. In spite of her efforts, she ended up giving birth at home. Today, her commitment to her baby's health continues: she rushed to the meeting place to have the child immunized.

Once a month, an immunization team, directed by Nicomede, travels through each of the villages in the coverage zone. Nicomede affirms that, "The populations themselves seek out immunization because they understand more and more how important it is." Villager Annick Gbenongbe says, "I get immunized and I make sure my children are immunized against measles, tuberculosis, tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria and polio." These are the six diseases targeted in the Immunization Plus programme.

Senior doctor in Djidja, Nestor Aigbe, explains why the villagers in the district are so enthusiastic about immunization, "It's mainly down to the outreach strategy." He refers to the tireless work conducted by the health teams, organizing meetings or going house-to-house, to persuade the villagers to have their children immunized.

So far, the immunization coverage rate for measles in the Djidja district, has gone from 45 per cent in 1997 to 62 per cent in 2001. For the same period, the rate of tuberculosis immunization went from 59 per cent to 67 per cent.

UNICEF was instrumental in providing the vaccines and the necessary storage equipment. "We no longer have disruption in the stock," Dr Aigbe affirms. Until recently, big vaccination storage fridges were not used as there wasn't any electricity in Djidja. To overcome the problem, UNICEF donated large fridges that run on petrol. UNICEF also provided motorbikes for the health team in each of the seven health centres in the district.

With continued UNICEF support, the dedication of the health teams and the commitment of mothers, like Clementine, Djidja may well reach its goal of 90 per cent immunization coverage for 2002. It's a target that will only be reached with continued team spirit.