A campaign to vaccinate against Oral Cholera Virus (OCV) has been launched in Zimbabwe, with a target population of one year and older. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF are working together on this project. The launch was held on Monday in Kuwadzana, a severely impacted Harare suburb.

According to Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora, the campaign’s target population is 2.3 million, and the first batch consists of 800 pills. Speaking on behalf of Mombeshora, Minister of State for the Harare Metropolitan Province Charles Tawengwa said that cholera has been a recurring problem since the 2023 outbreak, made worse recently by rain, flooding, and increased population movement during the holiday season.

Mombeshora stressed that cholera vaccines are an acknowledged and successful public health strategy in addition to current government activities. The vaccinations are arranged purposely throughout the provinces, towns, and particularly impacted areas, such as Harare. 

The campaign will include immunizations administered at schools and door-to-door canvassing. The vaccine is administered orally and prevents cholera infections for at least six months.

February 5 is when the next round of medicines is expected to arrive. Mombeshora acknowledged the need for vaccines worldwide and linked Zimbabwe’s uneven distribution to the current worldwide shortage brought on by the region’s impacted countries’ high demand. He used the vaccine’s proven track record of success in earlier campaigns to convince the public that it was safe.

The Vaccine Alliance, or GAVI, provided financial help to make these vaccines available. Since the first reports about a year ago, Zimbabwe has reported over 20,000 suspected cases of cholera and over 400 confirmed and suspected deaths.

The WHO Representative for Zimbabwe, Dr. Jean-Marie Dangou, emphasized the significance of the house-to-house approach in reducing crowding and preventing the transmission of illness. Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, the Country Representative for UNICEF Zimbabwe, advocated for giving children first priority in the immunization campaign, stressing the campaign’s dual benefits of avoiding new infections and protecting mothers, hence protecting households.

Prosper Chonzi, the director of health for Harare City, urged people to get immunized, highlighting the vaccine’s complete safety and efficacy as well as the fact that it is given away for free.

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