Chronicle Editor
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
IN an effort to strengthen Covid-19 response in Matabeleland South province, the Lutheran Development Services (LDS) is implementing a Covid-19 vaccination upscaling project in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
The programme is expected to help the province reach the 70 percent vaccination coverage target.
It will support Ministry of Health and Child Care teams to conduct outreaches to communities and schools and is funded by Christian Aid.
Beitbridge, Gwanda and Insiza districts are earmarked to benefit from the project.
Lutheran Development Services executive director Mrs Simangaliso Hove said the purpose of the project is to support the Ministry of Health and Child Care achieve herd immunity through upscaling vaccinations at schools, rural communities, peri-urban and urban communities.
“The programme has basically four components which include awareness and mobilisation of people for vaccination which is to be done through mobile teams visiting communities with a hailer, radio broadcast and visibility banners which the programme will cater for. The LDS facilitates the teams with travel fuel and subsistence allowances. Facilitating Ministry of Health personnel to conduct vaccination outreaches to schools, communities in rural, peri-urban and urban areas in the districts. It provides fuel and subsistence allowances for vaccination teams and supporting district task force teams to plan, review and respond to Covid-19 outbreaks and incidences,” said Mrs Hove.
He said there is a full-time project officer co-ordinating activities on the ground.
“Target communities will be schools, rural communities, peri-urban and urban dwellers as determined by the Ministry of Health. The package is essentially the same for the three districts except for Beitbridge district which has an additional component in the form of support to the quarantine centre which will receive hygiene kits. The project commenced in the month of June 2022 and will wind off end of December 2022,” said Mrs Hove.
She said the project will be co-ordinated through the District Development Co-ordinator’s office who works with a district Covid-19 task force.
“The project has put together expertise based mobile teams to run with the different interventions of mobilisation, surveillance and vaccination. The intervention will be implemented on a sequencing and layering pattern with each extending for a period of six months. Each outreach intervention is expected to last 10 days and repeated after 21 days to ensure adequacy of vaccinations,” said Mrs Hove.
In her post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Senator Monica Mutsvangwa said seven provinces in the country experienced minor increases in cases over the past 14 days.
“These increases were, however, insignificant as the numbers were very small and had no impact on the pandemic trajectory. The small increases are, however, an indication that the country needs to remain vigilant. The number of new admissions decreased to nine when compared to twelve recorded in the previous week,” she said.
“The nation is being informed that the country’s Covid-19 pandemic response remains on track. However, in view of the small increase in new cases in seven provinces, Cabinet resolved that all provinces must continue to strengthen their Covid-19 response, ramp up vaccinations in schools once schools reopen next week and prioritise those that have not yet reached the 70 percent vaccination coverage target and pay attention to the control of other diseases outbreaks.”
Health experts continue to remind members of the public that the relaxation of Covid-19 regulations does not mean that there should be complacency as the virus is still among us.
Safety protocols that prevent the transmission and spread of Covid-19 should be observed. – @Yolisswa
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