Perceptions et représentations de la vaccination de la poliomyélite chez les Bamendou de l’ouest Cameroun

Abstract

This work is entitled : “perception et représentation de la vaccination de la poliomyélite chez les Bamendou de l’ouest Cameroun”. The expanded vaccination program in Cameroon sets up regular vaccination campaigns against poliomyelitis to fight against this disease and see its eradication. However, the populations of Bamendou are reluctant to take the polio vaccine. This raises the problem of reluctance and non-adherence to the vaccine by the populations of the locality of Bamendou. Indeed, this population during polio vaccination campaigns is characterized by vaccine refusal. In order to understand this problem within the Bamendou community, we asked ourselves the question of, how do sociocultural perceptions and representations influence polio vaccination among the Bamendou of western Cameroon? We hypothesized that: the populations of the locality of Bamendou perceive the polio vaccine as a danger to the health of their offspring. They doubt the origin and quality of these vaccines. They rely on conspiracy theories, alleging that vaccines could be a ruse by Westerners to make their children sterile or kill them with incurable diseases. Our main objective is to demonstrate the influence of sociocultural perceptions and representations on polio vaccination among the Bamendou. The verification of this hypothesis was subordinated to the two main methodological orientations in force in anthropology, namely documentary research and field research. This procedure allowed us to achieve the following main results: the populations of Bamendou have diverse perceptions about the vaccine and they identify the vaccine with poison, with disease. It should be noted that the populations of Bamendou are characterized by their reluctance to vaccination, by violence towards vaccinating agents during campaigns; they hide children so that they are not vaccinated. On the other hand, given that the vaccines come from the West, people doubt the conformity of these vaccines. In addition, the polio vaccine is very regular. Ultimately, non-adherence to the vaccine among the Bamendou has led to numerous consequences, namely the failure of vaccination coverage, the permanence of the disease and exposure to the disease.