By Kudakwashe Pembere
Vaccines used for the immunization of children have been credited for saving six lives for every minute Zimbabweans with the country seeing a 51 percent drop in neonatal mortality.
This the Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora told journalists after World Health Day and Expanded Programme on Immunization’s (EPI) golden jubilee commemorations held in Harare on Thursday.
The EPI is still aiming to prevent more preventable diseases where vaccines are available. As you have heard, vaccines have life. Vaccines are having six lives every minute. As a result, we have benefitted from vaccines that are available in the region, in the country” he said.
Government determined to improve child healthcare alongside reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity through immunization efforts has over the years increased the number of vaccine antigens from six to 14, the Health Minister said.
“And as you heard, we started with six antigens and now we have 13, and that’s a huge milestone. And that is improved. When you look at, we use neonatal mortality, infant mortality as a measure to say, where we are going.
“We have positive results. We have been reducing infant mortality partly due to vaccination, partly due to proper management of the mother as well during her pregnancy. So, vaccines really are a saviour,” Minister Mombeshora said.
Minister Mombeshora mentioned how cholera vaccination campaigns in the country led to the country eliminating the disease. He said they are planning to make cholera vaccinations routine.
“A very good example is cholera. Cholera is a disease that can be prevented by good hygiene. But now there is a vaccine, we are, as we are addressing on the wash site of things, we actually intervened with vaccines and we managed to arrest the cholera outbreak.
“And we are now moving towards making a cholera vaccine as a routine to make sure that we don’t have any opportunities anymore,” the Health Minister said.
The Health Minister added they envision the local manufacturing of vaccines.
“So as Zimbabwe, we are benefiting quite a lot from this vaccine. We want to move on to manufacturing vaccines locally so that we can bring the prices down and increase access and affordability of that vaccine to our population,” he said.
World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to Zimbabwe Dr Desta Tiruneh in a speech read in his stead by Dr Sarah Wanyoike, the Vaccine Preventable Diseases Team Lead of Intercountry Support Team for East and Southern Africa commended Zimbabwe for setting the pace with an enviable immunization programme in the African region.
“For Zimbabwe, efforts to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus, eradicate polio, and eliminate measles have been exceptional and commendable.
“The country has made significant strides in ensuring that pregnant women receive the necessary vaccinations to protect both themselves and their newborns from maternal and neonatal tetanus.
“Through targeted campaigns and community engagement, Zimbabwe has successfully reduced the incidence of this preventable disease, safeguarding the health of mothers and infants alike.
“Additionally, the sustained focus on polio eradication and measles elimination has seen remarkable progress, with robust immunization strategies leading to increased coverage and the protection of countless children from these debilitating diseases,” Dr Tireneh said.
The United Nations Children’s Fund representative to Zimbabwe Etona Ekole represented by her Deputy Dr Zeinab Adam lauded the government for legislative tools to safeguard children’s rights.
“As the leading advocate in child health survival, child survival and health, UNICEF applauds the government of Zimbabwe for putting in place legislation, policy instruments that reflect a priority on child rights and their needs. Ladies and gentlemen, as we commemorate of essential program on immunization, UNICEF calls all to invest in developing, strengthening and implementing health promotion policies, strategies, programs and action plans and establish sustainable structures at national and subnational levels for health promotion presentation,” Ekole said.
Zimbabwe’s EPI manager Ms Colleen Chigodo explained the history of the immunization programme for Zimbabwe which started in1974.
“The Zimbabwe vaccination services started in 1974 with six antigens that is polio, measles, diptheria, pertussis and whooping cough and BCG which prevents against TB. The in 1980, the country launched the EPI. So here we are commemorating the 50 years on immunization.
“This was launched in 1974 by WHO but Zimbabwe launched in 1980. So what I can say about immunization in Zimbabwe in general, we have seen that it has saved six lives every minute. It has also contributed to reduction in infant mortality by 51 percent.
“We have eliminated maternal neonatal tetanus in 2002. At some stage in our immunization program, the country has reached the polio-free status in 2005. And we are in the measles, ore-elimination stage. So, we are progressing with immunization to avert diseases and deaths due vaccine preventable diseases,” she said.
