Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Health Reporter
THE Ministry of Health and Child Care this week intensified efforts to shield children from vaccine-preventable diseases through a nationwide campaign targeting Grade Five girls and 10-year-old out-of-school girls with the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
The vaccination exercise, which began on Monday and ends today (Friday), is being conducted in schools, clinics and health facilities countrywide, with health authorities stressing that no eligible child should be left behind, irrespective of location.
In an interview, Mutare District health promotions officer, Mrs Sophia Nezandonyi, said the campaign seeks to increase uptake of the HPV vaccine and safeguard girls against cervical cancer later in life.
Teams of healthcare workers have been deployed to primary schools, including those in hard-to-reach areas, to ensure broad coverage.
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care is this week vaccinating Grade Five girls in school and 10-year-old girls who are out of school with the Human Papillomavirus vaccine.
“Those who are out of school are accessing the vaccine at clinics and health facilities nearest to them, while teams are visiting schools to vaccinate eligible learners.
“We want every Grade Five girl and every 10-year-old girl who is out of school to receive the vaccine.
“It does not matter whether they are in remote communities or urban areas; our goal is to protect them from cervical cancer,” said Mrs Nezandonyi.
Human Papillomavirus is a common viral infection that can lead to cervical cancer later in life if left unchecked.
Mrs Nezandonyi said vaccination before exposure to the virus is one of the most effective methods of preventing the disease.
Cervical cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among women in Zimbabwe and across sub-Saharan Africa, making early prevention through vaccination a public health priority.
Mrs Nezandonyi said the HPV campaign has been integrated with administration of the Tetanus-Diphtheria (Td) vaccine for children aged five and 10 years.
“The Td vaccine protects against tetanus, commonly known as lockjaw, and diphtheria, a severe bacterial infection affecting the throat and airways.
“The programme has been integrated so that children aged five years and 10 years also receive the Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccine to protect them from tetanus and diphtheria.
“This is taking place at all primary schools as part of our routine immunisation programme,” she said, adding that integrating vaccines allows children to receive multiple life-saving interventions at once while reducing missed immunisation opportunities.
Mrs Nezandonyi urged parents and guardians to support the programme by ensuring that eligible children are vaccinated, assuring them that the vaccines are safe and have been used successfully for many years.
“Our message to parents and guardians is that these vaccines are safe.
“They have been part of routine immunisation programmes for years and are effective in protecting children against serious illnesses,” she said.
She noted that health authorities had recorded low uptake of the HPV vaccine in previous years, prompting the ministry to strengthen outreach through the current campaign.
“Over the years, we have recorded low uptake of the HPV vaccine, and we are concerned that this could contribute to increased cases of cervical cancer in the future if children are not protected in time.
“If children miss the Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccine, they may develop severe complications that can result in death.
“That is why we are targeting children while they are gathered at schools to ensure that no one is left behind,” said Mrs Nezandonyi, adding that schools provide an effective platform for reaching large numbers of eligible children within a short period.
“Bringing these services to schools helps us improve coverage and strengthen prevention efforts by ensuring that children receive vaccines at the right age,” she said.
Meanwhile, the ministry is preparing to roll out the third round of the oral polio vaccination campaign in July as part of regional efforts to prevent the spread of circulating poliovirus variants.
Mrs Nezandonyi said the campaign targets all children under five, regardless of whether they received previous doses during earlier rounds conducted in April and June.
“It is a campaign we are conducting because of the polio variant recently identified in Malawi.
“We carried out the first round in April, the second in June, and the third round will be conducted in July.
“The campaign targets every child under the age of five because Zimbabwe is centrally located and experiences significant cross-border movement involving countries such as Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa. We want to protect our children against polio because they can be exposed through travellers passing through Zimbabwe or through movement between countries in the region,” said Mrs Nezandonyi, further explaining that Zimbabwe is implementing the polio campaign simultaneously with neighbouring countries, including Zambia, Mozambique, Angola and Malawi, to maximise protection across the region.
“The vaccination campaigns are being conducted at the same time so that every child in the targeted age group receives protection. Even if a child misses vaccination while travelling in Zimbabwe, they can still access it when they reach another participating country,” she said, encouraging parents and caregivers not to worry if their children missed the first or second polio rounds.
