A health worker in Madagascar takes to the frontlines against COVID-19
In Madagascar, only 3.5% of the population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
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Toandroharimalala Dinitsoa (Tsoa), 34, wakes up every morning at 5 a.m. to take care of her family and prepare to go to work. She lives in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo, and works as a nurse at the Antanimena health center.
Tsoa who is married with three children has breakfast with her daughter Cathy, 8, before she leaves for school.
To get to work, Tsoa takes one of the many private minibuses that scramble through Antananarivo’s crowded streets. If the traffic is not bad, her commute takes around 30 minutes.
At the Antanimena health center, staff have begun welcoming people who have come to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Tsoa considers herself a frontline health worker. "I chose this job to serve the population and make my contribution to the fight against COVID-19," she explains while preparing the vaccines.
Her team uses a tablet to register patients. The device is used to help manage patients’ data.
Tsoa vaccinates about twenty people every day, most of whom come in the morning. "We can be exposed to various diseases on a daily basis, but our commitment is to protect the health of those who come here.”
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Madagascar has recorded more than 1,300 deaths out of 63,000 cases. Health centers like the one in Antanimena continue receive patients coming for vaccinations and other health services.
Madagascar has received more than two million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through the global COVAX initiative. UNICEF supports the cold chain, ensuring that the doses are kept at the correct temperature as they are transported to more than 800 sites across the country.
With just 3.5% of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, UNICEF and partners are working every day to reach more people while informing them of the vaccines’ safety and efficacity. Funding from donors such as the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) plays a vital role.
Tsoa prepares to return home at the end of the day. "I got vaccinated and I will continue to encourage people to get vaccinated because the vaccine is essential in order to fight against COVID-19,” she says.
