a child gets cholera vaccine-pic by Tanaka Ziyavaya
BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) will be undertaking the Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) coverage survey listing of households exercise from tomorrow (the 14th ) to the 22nd of March 2024.
The listing exercise which aims to establish a comprehensive sampling frame, from which households to be covered in OVC Coverage Survey will be selected, will be conducted in seven provinces.
According to a statement by ZimStat, the listing will be conducted in Harare, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo and Midlands.
It is said the OCV coverage survey aims to collect data to ascertain the following among others, “cholera prevention and control, oral cholera vaccine coverage rates, knowledge and awareness levels about cholera, the utilization of sanitation facilities and safe water sources.”
The statement further read that “statistics produced from the survey are critical for policy formulation and decision making relating to the following among others; “prevention health interventions, human capital development strategies, macroeconomic planning and social programs targeting cholera prevention.”
It was also added that the survey will be conducted under provisions of the Census and Statistics Act (Chapter 10:29) and that information collected from is strictly confidential and will be issued solely for statistical purposes.
The country launched the OCV campaign on January 29, targeting cholera hotpots in the country and as at March 6, it is reported that 2 121 784 people had received the vaccine.
On Tuesday March 12, the country recorded 127 new suspected cholera cases, one suspected death and two laboratory confirmed death.
And as of March 12, the country had recorded 28 247 cumulative suspected cases, 2 779 cumulative cases, 27 532 recoveries, 71 confirmed deaths and 515 suspected deaths.
Manicaland Province has received a timely donation of US$774 000 from Japan for the emergency cholera response.
The donation which was made through UNICEF, will specifically target the most vulnerable communities in the province, which bears one of the highest burdens of the disease.
A statement by UNICEF revealed that the grant will provide a comprehensive range of life-saving support in areas such as access to safe water; provision of critical hygiene materials, healthcare, and nutrition; child protection; as well as other essential social services.
His Excellency Mr Shinichi Yamanaka, Japan’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe said, “I hope that our support will allow the most vulnerable people to recover quickly and rebuild their lives. I also hope it will help prevent the further spread of this disease and future outbreaks”.
Speaking on the same grant, Dr Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe said, “we are extremely grateful to the Government of Japan for this support.
“This support exemplifies the commitment of the Government of Japan to the people of Zimbabwe to address the urgent needs of the affected communities and build resilience in the face of public health emergencies.”
The statement further read that, “the newly allocated funding will help the Government of Zimbabwe, UNICEF, and their partners to scale-up the multi-sectoral cholera response in affected areas, prioritising improved support and treatment to people infected by cholera; securing access to safe water with a special emphasis on the rehabilitation of sustainable, climate-resilient boreholes to ensure a lasting supply of safe water; and disseminating messages on cholera prevention and treatment through mass media platforms and interpersonal communication channels.”
Zimbabwe has been grappling with the cholera outbreak since February last year, recording 20,000 cases and over 400 deaths. Manicaland and Harare are the hardest hit provinces, as both account for 64 percent of all cholera cases.
And since the start of the outbreak, UNICEF has been working with the Ministry of Health and Child Care and partners to support affected communities, including by: “providing emergency health supplies and medical products to establish more than 50 cholera treatment centres and more than 90 community oral rehydration points in affected areas.
“Providing technical and operational support for the cholera vaccination campaign targeting 2.3 million people in the most affected districts.
“Training more than 2,200 health workers on case management, surveillance, and infection control in treatment facilities.
“Reaching more than 260,000 people with critical water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies.
“And reaching 5 million people with messages on health-and-hygiene measures to prevent cholera and the importance of seeking medical treatment early, particularly for children,” added the statement.
UDACIZA Secretary General Reverend Innocent Chitanda
BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
The Cholera outbreak which has wrecked havoc in the country is caused by poor hygiene standards and the disease should never be linked to any demonic attack, Union for the Development of Apostolic Churches and Zionists in Africa, Secretary General Reverend Innocent Chitanda has revealed.
Reverend Chitanda further revealed that hoping to get treatment of Cholera from divine intervention will be stretching it too far as this can only be done by getting treatment and practising good hygiene.
He revealed this on Thursday during a media science cafe on Life Course Immunisation, which was organised by the Health Communicators Forum and the Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre.
His sentiments follow calls made by some sects which shun medical attention, saying the disease will be treated through divine intervention.
“There are demonic diseases, then there are diseases which are caused by the environment; so if we speak of Cholera, there is no way we can include the Holy Spirit in Cholera because it’s not a demonic disease.
“The moment we regard it as demonic, then we have to use the spiritual aspect but Cholera is not a demonic disease, we must be true about it.
“It is caused by the negligence of a human being, whoever has put his waste in the water sources and people by chance get in contact with that dirt.
“So there is no way we can associate the Holy Spirit with Cholera just because it is human error which caused Cholera,” said Reverend Chitanda.
According to the World Health Organisation, Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by eating or drinking food or water that it contaminated with bacterium vibrio.
It spreads rapidly in areas where there is poor sanitation.
However a member of Vapostori VeDare Madzimai Chipo Musonza who was part of the meeting, did not seem to agree, saying that their belief in their church is that all diseases are only cured by the Holy Spirit.
She said despite numerous calls for their members to participate in vaccination programmes or other health initiatives, they will continue to shy away because their only source of hope lies in the divine power of God.
“As members of the Vapostori VeDare, we don’t believe in immunization, even going to the hospital. we only believe in the Holy Spirit.
“So it is our belief that there is no disease which can be said to be incurable by the Holy Spirit. We believe that anything that can trouble let’s say a child, can only be solved by the Holy Spirit.
“And I can give you an example of maternity; we have women in our church who are responsible for that. We have our own midwives within the church who are there to make sure that all deliveries are done in safe and clean environments.
“You can also look at our own children; you will find that there are just a few who maybe of ill-health because they will always be protected by the Holy Spirit.
“Like when you talk of fontanel (nhova), we know it’s caused by dehydration, so we make sure that we encourage all mothers to give their children enough water and there will also be prayers done for those same children so that they are always protected,” said Madzimai Musonza.
She also revealed that at their church they had been warned prior to the emergence of Covid-19 and they were all protected by prayers.
“When Covid-19 came we were not vaccinated because what we believe in is that there is no disease outbreak which will start without the Holy Spirit aware of it.
“So when the Holy Spirit warns us, we will be given special prayers in relation to that (outbreak) so that we are protected.
“So yes diseases can come but we will always be protected by the Holy Spirit, so we are not even worried or bothered,” said Madzimai Musonza.
The Chairperson of UDACIZA Harare Province, Mr Njagu said while there are about 1 000 apostolic sects and their organisation has 620 members (churches and zionists), they all don’t have the same beliefs.
He said some believe in vaccination, while others shun it totally.
“We all don’t believe the same, some believe in vaccinations, while others don’t believe in that. Yes in my church we do believe that diseases can be cured by prayer and we even have some people who come and get prayed for.
“But we then discovered that there are some diseases which can be cured by prayer while others will need medical attention, like in the case of Cholera.
“We saw that we cannot talk of prayer so we allowed our people to get medical assistance; I’m saying this on behalf of my church.
“So we are encouraging others to follow the medical route especially when it comes to Cholera, because we saw that there are times we were burying people as a result of vaccine preventable diseases,” said Mr Njagu.
City of Harare Expanded Programme on Immunisation Officer, Sister Monica Muto, said though some apostolic sects say they don’t seek medical attention, some of their members come nicodemously for health services.
She said in some cases, people end up making individual decisions which they know will save them and their families.
“It’s something that we noticed that though some sects bar their members from seeking medical attention, some members go to the hospitals nicodemously.
“It is something we have understood hence in such cases, they don’t queue with the rest of the people, we offer them special treatment because we are aware of the issues issues, we give them privacy.
“For some you will find out that their husbands will be refusing that they take the children to seek medical attention but the mothers want to take their children to the hospitals so we offer them the necessary support. For some we keep their medical records at the health institutions,” said Sister Muto.
There has been several calls for health authorities to find common ground with some religious sects as it was seen that issues to do with health science have a huge difference from some spiritual beliefs.
NEWSSPACE 