Story by Tafara Chikumira
THE ongoing oral cholera vaccination programme is progressing well in the Midlands province, which has not been spared by the water-borne disease that has claimed 36 lives across the province.
In the Midlands province, the vaccination programme has been conducted in the hotspots of Zvishavane and Mberengwa districts.
The latest information released by the Ministry of Health and Child Care reveals that the exercise has since been concluded in Mberengwa district after 96 percent of the population in the troubled zones was vaccinated.
According to the statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, as of this Tuesday, the Midlands province had cumulative cases of 552 and of these 225 were recorded in Zvishavane.
170 other cases were recorded in Mberengwa hence the sustained efforts to ensure the two districts are covered under the oral vaccination.
“We are very happy that in Mberengwa, which was the most hit, we targeted five wards and the team is now through. We managed to vaccinate 96 percent of that targeted population because the number of vaccines were not tallying with the number of people in that area and we now wait for a directive from the head office.
“The people were very responsive and right now my team is in Zvishavane where the reports also indicate that people are warming up to the vaccines. We head quite a number of mortalities especially in mining communities where people delayed to seek treatment,” said Midlands Provincial Medical Officer, Dr Mary Machekeza.
Government is impressed by the response to the cholera vaccination programme in the province as indicated by the Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Douglas Mombeshora.
“We are very excited to have been here in the Midlands province on a fact finding mission about the state of health affairs. We have given the province two ambulances to be delivered to the province soon. We will also give them an x-ray machine for diagnosis and other infrastructure to improve the health delivery system.”
Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Owen Ncube said, “As Midlands province, we have not been spared by this deadly cholera pandemic. However, I want to applaud my team for leading a spirited fight against the scourge which has resulted in huge gains in terms of dealing with the pandemic.”
The Midlands province has 10 cholera cases under care after witnessing 515 recoveries, representing a 92 percent recovery rate after various government interventions.
