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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, [email protected]

THE Government has launched a vaccination campaign against cholera, in collaboration with UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The first cholera vaccines were administered by the Health and Child Care Minister, Dr Douglas Mombeshora during an event in Kuwadzana on Monday, one of the most affected areas of the current cholera outbreak.

These vaccines were made possible thanks to the financial support from GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, whose commitment to global health equity has been instrumental in providing access to life-saving vaccines for Zimbabwe.

The cholera vaccines are an additional strategy the Government is rolling out to contain the spread of cholera in Zimbabwe.

“Zimbabwe has recorded more than 20 000 suspected cholera and more than 400 confirmed and suspected deaths, since the first cases were recorded nearly a year ago. A multisectoral cholera response plan led by the Ministry of Health and Child Care Care in collaboration with other Government Ministries and supported by UNICEF, WHO and partners and donors, has been rolled out focusing on streamlining response coordination at all levels, treatment of infected people and prevention of the spread of the disease through improved access to safe water, sanitation, personal and food hygiene and the dissemination of preventive messages to population most at risk,” read  a statement from WHO.

“The introduction of the cholera vaccine is another tool to prevent the further spread of the disease. The first three batches of 892 286 cholera vaccines arrived via air freight on January 25 and January 27 at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, from which they were immediately dispatched to be used in the most affected districts in the country. More arrivals are planned in the days to come.”