HARARE - Zimbabwe's new United Nations-supported anti-measles campaign has seen more than 1,280,000 children vaccinated in the first three days in a move aimed at boosting the health of the countrys children.
The campaign is targeting some 5 million children between the ages of six months and 14 years.
Health and Child Welfare minister Dr Henry Madzorera of the MDC told a news conference at the weekend that 536,102 children were vaccinated across the country on the first day of the programme, while 360,116 were inoculated on the second day and 385,411 also got vaccinated on the third day bringing the total number of children vaccinated in the first three days to 1,281,629.
Today marks the half way mark in our campaign and would like to register the great achievements that are being made by teams of health care workers in the field,” Madzorera told reporters. “We appreciate the huge turn out by communities. In some areas the vaccinating teams are even getting overwhelmed and we encourage parents to be patient.
The new campaign the largest in the African nation in more than a decade includes a mass immunization drive and the supply of vitamin A supplements.
The vaccination drive, which was launched last week in Harare, the capital, is a response to the current measles outbreak.
World Health Organisation (WHO) country representative Dr Custodia Mandhlate told reporters that there was also an overwhelming response from previously resistant church groupings such as the Apostolic sects.
It is very pleasing to note that despite some negative comments from some quarters which were aimed at discouraging parents to take their children for vaccination, parents want the best for their kids and they are turning up in large numbers, Dr Mandhlate said.
Madhlate paid tribute to donors for their support for the drive, as well as to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirais office for organizing talks with the leaders of apostolic churches that had objected to immunization.
UNICEF country representative Dr Peter Salama commended parents and guardians for taking the initiative to help eradicate and eliminate preventable diseases by having their children vaccinated.
Earlier this month, the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) released US$5.6 million to help protect children from measles in Zimbabwe.
Post published in: News