THE Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) 4th round Polio Vaccination will be ending tomorrow amidst indications that a total 2 773 940 are targeted for vaccination this time around.
By Michael Gwarisa
The Polio vaccination commenced on 10 October and will be enduing October 13, 2023.
Launching the 4th Round Polio Vaccination, Minister of Health, Dr Douglas Mombeshora even though Zimbabwe has not recorded any Polio case since it was in neighboring countries, vaccinating children would give the a fighting chance should the diseases find its way into the country.
As with the previous three rounds that we have conducted, the Ministry of Health and Child Care targets to reach and protect all the 2 773 940 children under five years of age with a supplementary dose of the Polio vaccine in the wake of a resurgence in the Poliomyelitis threat in the region.
The Ministry is conducting this series of Polio supplementary vaccination campaigns for children in close collaboration with six other countries in the region namely Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia in the spirit of regional integration and in line with the renewed global Polio eradication drive.
“The identification of Wild Poliovirus 1 cases in 2022 in our region threatens to reverse the gains that have accrued from years of massive investments by government in reaching every child with life-saving vaccines. This calls for a concerted effort in intensifying and strengthening both routine and supplementary immunisation in the country especially for the under five children who are at the highest risk.”
He added that adequate doses of polio vaccines have been procured and together with all other campaign resources have been prepositioned in all provinces, districts and health facilities and our teams have started vaccinating children today as scheduled.
“The Ministry is geared to achieve and even surpass the recommended target of vaccinating and protecting at least 95% of the 2 773 940 children under five years in the country. The planned vaccination drive feeds into the broader government vision of a healthy and prosperous nation as enshrined in the National Health Strategy and the National Development Strategy (1). It is imperative to note that the national vision for 2030 cannot be achieved in the context of disruptive outbreaks of preventable diseases such as Poliomyelitis, measles and the other re-emerging diseases. Hence in addition to targeting these diseases for eradication the Ministry continues to invest in modernising the country’s health delivery system to match increasing demands for disease prevention and control.”
Immunization programms in Zimbabwe ontinues to receive support from partners like WHO, UNICEF, Gavi-the vaccine alliance, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Rotary Club, Crown Agents and many other national and local partners.
