The birth of twin children is a rare phenomenon in Beguele, a ZIP community in the Far North Region of Cameroon. Whenever a family is blessed with multiple births, the social norms warrant them to believe that the children have superpowers and special immunity. Hence, they do not need any man-made protection like vaccination. This explains why children from multiple births have not received vaccinations. “For us, twins are hyper-protected by God himself. They don’t need vaccines from white people,” A parent of twin children explained.
After continuous education within the community of Beugele, Mamadou took the bull by the horns to set the pace for vaccinating his twin children, ISSUA and ISAAC—an act which amazed the community. Despite the rumours spread that the children would die, the children woke up the following day stronger, causing more parents to bring their twin children for vaccination during the following outreach.
The R4S hopes to break the barriers around such myths to ensure it reaches the last mile to vaccinate every child.
