adminTanaka Mahanya
THE World Health Organisation and UNICEF have called on African governments to prioritise immunisation programmes to overcome the barriers and challenges in delivering vaccines to everyone.
These include vaccine hesitancy, inadequate funding, weak health systems, and logistical difficulties in reaching remote areas.
They emphasised the need to strengthen vaccine supply chains, increase public awareness, and involve communities in decision-making to ensure that vaccines are accessible, affordable, and accepted by all.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role of vaccines in protecting public health and strengthening health systems and the urgent need to accelerate progress towards universal immunisation coverage in Africa and globally.
Vaccine preventable diseases in Africa include Covid-19, polio, measles, yellow fever, cholera, malaria, hepatitis B, meningitis, pneumonia, diarrhoea, tetanus, cervical cancer, tuberculosis, diphtheria and pertussis.
“No one should die from a preventable disease. Routine immunisation has saved lives for generations. This reminds us about the power of vaccines.
“Immunisation is a powerful tool that enables children to be healthy and thrive.
“Equal access to vaccines is key for people everywhere to reach their full potential.
“From polio to measles, to cholera and ebola, vaccines save over four million lives every year and protect us from deadly diseases.
“They reduce the risks of contracting a disease by working with your body’s natural defences to build protection.”
According to UNICEF, Zimbabwe has recorded a decline in the coverage of papillomaviruses (HPV) vaccine from 91 percent in 2019, to 67 percent in 2021.
“This was largely due to Covid-19 effects. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we witnessed the largest sustained decline in rates of childhood vaccinations in a generation.
“Nearly 67 million children missed the routine vaccines that protect them from deadly diseases,” UNICEF said.
Online Reporter