Harare (New Ziana) –The Zimbabwe government on Wednesday officially launched the National Polio Vaccination Campaign which runs from Thursday to Sunday.

The vaccination campaign, which is being implemented with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), is targeting to vaccinate and protect at least 95 percent of the 2 556 800 children under five years in the country.

Officiating at the launch, Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Dr John Mangwiro said the national vaccination drive was being implemented in collaboration with four other regional countries namely Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique in order to respond and mitigate the impact of re-emerging polio outbreaks.

So far, polio outbreaks have been reported in Malawi and Mozambique.

During the campaign, the Ministry and its partners will deploy teams to conduct door-to-door mobilization and vaccination in all areas in the country.

On Tuesday, the Ministry again with support from the WHO, conducted Lot Quality Assurance Survey (LQAS) training for teams that will be monitoring the national polio vaccination campaign.

Community sensitisation meetings with village health workers and health center committees as well as routine immunisation and surveillance review and planning meetings with provinces and districts were conducted.

Polio is a disabling and life-threatening disease which is easily preventable by vaccination.

It is transmitted through contaminated water or food or contact with an infected person.

New Ziana