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HEALTH and Child Care Ministry, together with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF, will embark on a polio vaccination exercise between July 28-31.
The vaccination campaign comes after Malawi and Mozambique recorded polio outbreaks, placing Zimbabwe at high risk.
In a statement, WHO said they will be working with the Health Ministry and UNICEF, to curb polio outbreaks.
“The Health Ministry, WHO and UNICEF will be vaccinating children under five years against polio between 28-31 July 2022,” the statement said.
“Health Workers will visit homes to vaccinate children and will paint the child’s left thumb to indicate that the child has been vaccinated.
“The campaign is in response to the polio outbreak in Malawi and Mozambique, placing Zimbabwe at high risk.”
WHO said health workers will also conduct the vaccinations in health centres, markets, churches, bus stations and other public places.
WHO’s Africa polio programme coordinator, Modjirom Ndoutabe, said Zimbabwe would join Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia in a mass vaccination campaign, to protect under-five children, and halt the debilitating wild poliovirus type 1 from spreading.
“Although Zimbabwe does not share a border with Malawi, frequent cross-border movements heighten the risk of wild polio outbreak,” he said.
Ndoutabe said Zimbabwe would conduct two more rounds, later this year, to ensure full vaccination coverage of all under-five children.
“Every effort is being made to vaccinate every eligible child.
“This is a dangerous disease with no cure, but full vaccination can prevent paralysis” Ndoutabe said.
Currently endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, wild poliovirus Type 1 is highly infectious, and largely affects children younger than five years, and can cause life-long paralysis.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter