The memories are still lively. The national vaccination campaign against polio in October 2022 continues to feed reluctance with populations who are still hesitant to have their children vaccinated.
She had the hair drawn up on the head of many Beninese in her time. And, from all points of view, they keep a hard tooth against this national vaccination campaign against polio in 2022. Rumors on cases of children who would have lost their lives in several localities after having received doses of polio vaccine, still feed the debates.
The reserve noted with some parents to have their children vaccinated during the past campaign is illustrative. In a concession in Abomey-Calavi, for example, among the children of receiving the drops, none received it. And the information, of word of mouth, goes contagious to the point of sowing doubt, the discouragement in the rank of parents previously ready to have their children vaccinated. This means that the reassuring remarks of the Beninese Minister of Health, Benjamin Hounkpatin, in his time still do not reassure. “A scrupulous control of the quality of the vaccines is done before any use and rigorous measures are taken for the respect of the cold chain at all levels …”, he said. But apparently this is not enough to erase fears.
Meanwhile, polio remains a very contagious and dangerous viral disease caused by a virus (poliovirus) which invades the nervous system and which can cause irreversible paralysis within hours. In 2023, in a report on the “eradication of polio”, the World Health Organization said that the risk of international poliovirus spread remains classified as an emergency in international health. It is therefore up to the Beninese government not to give up in the face of the observed reserve but rather to intensify the awareness around this disabling disease.
Fifonsi Cyrience Kougnande