Zimbabwe launches cholera vaccination campaign, boosting existing efforts to combat outbreak

Harare, Zimbabwe – The Government of Zimbabwe, in partnership with UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), on January, 29 launched a vaccination campaign against cholera targeting 2.3 million people, a measure aimed at boosting already existing treatment, prevention and awareness programmes to combat the disease.

Residents in Harare’s Kuwadzana suburb, one of the worst affected areas and the site of the vaccination campaign launch, did not waste time embracing this additional intervention.

Pamela Pfikurai, a resident, made a beeline for Kuwadzana Polyclinic near her home to get vaccinated soon after receiving the information from a team of community health promoters.

“I want to protect myself. But we have to get vaccinated in our numbers so that we are all protected, that’s how we can reduce the spread. From here, I am going to instruct my children to get vaccinated when the team visits their school,” said the 38-year-old mother of four.

The southern African country of 15 million people has recorded more than 20,000 suspected cholera and more than 400 confirmed and suspected deaths, since the first cases were recorded nearly a year ago, according to the Ministry of Health and Child Care.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said mass mobilisation is key to the success of the vaccination programme.

“It is a simple act that can save your life and protect your loved ones and your community. We request all community leaders and school authorities from respective targeted areas in collaboration with our health teams to ensure that all eligible people are vaccinated for us to achieve herd immunity and control cholera,” he said in a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of State for Harare Provincial Affairs, Charles Tavengwa.

The vaccines are being administered to people aged one year and above. The campaign aims to reach people in 160 wards within 26 high-risk districts in seven provinces that are the main drivers for the outbreak. These are Harare, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central, Manicaland, Masvingo and Midlands.

A good day for children of Zimbabwe

Soon after the launch, early signs showed an eagerness to embrace the single-dose vaccines, which have been made available thanks to support from GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance through the International Coordinating Group (ICG).

At Kuwadzana Polyclinic, children sitting on their mothers’ laps were cajoled into opening their mouths ajar to receive droplets of the oral vaccine.

Women wearing white headgear synonymous with apostolic sects traditionally known for being vaccine-hesitant sat on rows of wooden benches to listen to anti-cholera messages after getting vaccinated. Wearing blue t-shirts inscribed with messages promoting hand washing, they promised to campaign to eradicate vaccine hesitancy that is rampant in some religious groups.

Describing the campaign launch as “a good day for children in Zimbabwe,” UNICEF Country Representative Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale emphasized the importance of involving women in the vaccination programme.

“In addition to the vaccine being able to prevent children from new cholera infections, it also protects and prevents cholera infections in mothers, women and caregivers. More than half of reported cholera cases in the country are reported in women, and when women are safe they will be able to take care of children and the household,” said Dr. Oyewale at the campaign launch.

Young people refused to be left behind.

Chatty boys beside the vaccination tent talked loudly while awaiting their turn and plotted how to convince their football buddies to come for vaccination, too. After getting vaccinated, a group of girls took home a bunch of pamphlets on cholera prevention and vaccination to share with their peers and parents back in the community.

At Kuwadzana 6 Primary School, about two kilometres from the polyclinic, nurses in blue scrubs carried small cooler boxes containing doses to administer to school children.

The Government, UNICEF and WHO have devised a rollout strategy anchored on house-to-house visits to ensure wide reach and minimise gatherings that can further spread the disease.

This is in addition to the fixed vaccination points in all health facilities within the targeted areas, where vaccination teams of three people each are expected to vaccinate an average of 150 persons per day.

Vaccination amid dangers of complacency

A part of the vaccination campaign is to warn against a common danger: complacency.

While the vaccine will go a long way in helping reduce new infections, it is not a magic bullet, warned UNICEF’s Dr Oyewale, urging people to continue with safe hygiene practices.

“It is important to note that this vaccination works, but it works in close collaboration with prevention measures that have been put in place before now, and that includes safe hand washing, good hygiene, practices, water treatment, and also accessing care for those who are sick,” said Dr Oyewale.

Harare City Council authorities, who are working closely with the Government, UNICEF and WHO on the cholera response programme, pledged to ensure that ongoing prevention campaigns would continue at both household and institutional level.

“The vaccination campaign is an additional measure. But it’s not a replacement for good personal hygiene, safe drinking water, and certainly not a replacement for addressing the issues around infrastructure for sewage, solid waste management and waste water management. We still have to do those properly because the vaccine is not a substitute for preventive measures,” said Dr Prosper Chonzi, the City of Harare director of health.

To drive the message home, community health promoter Elizabeth Mudzenge and dozens of her colleagues in brown uniforms fanned around targeted areas, urging people to get vaccinated and also maintain preventive practices.

“People have a tendency to get complacent once they are vaccinated. We learnt that lesson during the coronavirus era. So we have to make sure people take prevention measures as part of their everyday habits, whether there is a cholera outbreak or not,” said Mudzenge.

In Kuwadzana, the message seemed to be taking some root.

Outside the polyclinic and elsewhere in the area, people trickled to water points to fill tapped buckets donated by UNICEF with tap water drawn from boreholes.

Children in school uniforms stopped to wash their hands and fruits or fill little plastic containers with safe drinking water from taps.

People entering the polyclinic first washed their hands from a tapped hand washing point mounted at the entrance. They did the same when leaving after being vaccinated.

Pfikurai, the vaccinated 38-year-old mother of four, was among those who washed their hands on leaving.

“The vaccine is for a time, but these practices are for life. It is even more important for those of us who are vaccinated to continue adhering to these practices, it may help inspire others around us,” she said, holding some leaflets to distribute to her neighbours.

UNICEF’s cholera response is funded by multiple donors, including the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO); the Health Resilience Fund (HRF), a Zimbabwean pooled fund supported by the Governments of Ireland, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance; Japan; the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and UNICEF Global Humanitarian Funding, and with in-kind support from private sector partners such as Alliance Media & JCDecaux for digital billboards, and Cash-In-Kind logistics support for commodities from United Parcel Service (UPS) Foundation.