Tag Archives: WHO ZIMBABWE

Vaccines save lives

WHO Zimbabwe Representative Dr Desta Tiruneh

BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA

Vaccines are one of the major medical advances that have been made, leading to the saving of many lives as they are safe to use, World Health Organisation (WHO) Zimbabwe Representative, Dr Desta Tiruneh has said.

Dr Tiruneh revealed this on Tuesday during a media science café organised by WHO and Health Communicators Forum.

According to WHO, vaccination is defined as “a simple, safe and effective way of protecting you against harmful diseases, before you come into contact with them. It uses your body’s natural defenses to build resistance to specific infections and makes your immune system stronger.”

Dr Tiruneh revealed this as Zimbabwe is preparing for another round of oral cholera vaccine soon.

“Zimbabwe is preparing for another round of oral cholera vaccination, for a small targeted area this time. The vaccine is going to be received soon, then we have to do the campaign.

“One of the issues that we noticed in the last campaign is that some people or some different groups of people for different reasons, either religion or other conspiracy theories, they don’t want to take vaccines.

“But if we talk about medical advances, vaccines are the best thing that ever happened in health sector because with the vaccines you can prevent lots of deaths,” said Dr Tiruneh.

He revealed that it was unfortunate that many children were dying of diseases which can be easily prevented by vaccination, hence there is need for more awareness such that people are fully aware of the life saving impact of vaccines.

“We can see for example I can tell you that small pox is gone and now we have polio almost at the point of eradication because vaccines change the world.

“We have many kids that are dying because of measles and measles you have vaccination, with two doses, you are done for life.

“You have yellow fever, I think with just one dose, you are done for life.

“So we have vaccines which can prevent lots of killer diseases, so this is something that we should appreciate.

“But I know with anti-vaxxers, they will create all sorts of stories, that if you take this, you will become sterile, but people will be infertile for other reasons but they associate it with that (vaccination) and then they say no, this is my lived experience, I was vaccinated now I cannot have a baby.

“But it has nothing to do with the vaccine. And there is no proof,” added Dr Tiruneh.

Similar sentiments were also echoed by Dr Lincoln Charimari, WHO Zimbabwe, Emergency Incident Manager, who spoke of the oral cholera saying it is safe as it can be used in all people who are aged one year and above.

“It can even be used in pregnant women, it can be used by even those who are HIV positive, it’s one of the safest vaccines around, so it is safe and you use it with other measures.

“And now that the cases have reduce to zero, it doesn’t mean it (cholera) has completely gone away, we have to continue to be vigilant and to continue to observe the necessary hygiene practices,” said Dr Charimari.

Anti-vaxxers are people who are opposed to vaccination and it has been revealed that several vaccination campaigns were hampered because of conspiracy theories around vaccination.

It said while anti-vaxxers refuse to vaccinate, they have also influenced other people not to vaccinate, giving all sort of theories.

 

NBSZ targets 600 units at World Blood Donor Day celebrations

NBSZ CEO, Lucy Marowa flanked by Radhi Chikwereti (left) and Menard Mutenherwa

BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA

 

The National Blood Service Zimbabwe (NBSZ) is targeting to collect 600 units of blood during the 2024 World Blood Donor Day celebrations which have been set for next month in the Midlands Province.

Speaking during a press conference on Monday, NBSZ Chief Executive Officer, Lucy Marowa, said this will be the 20th year anniversary since the launch of the World Donor Day.

This year’s celebrations will be held under the theme, “20 years of celebrating giving, thank you blood donors.”

Official day for the World Blood Donor Day is June 14, but Zimbabwe will hold its celebrations on the following day.

“As a country we are celebrating our World Blood Donor Day this year in the Midlands Province. It has been the culture of National Blood Service Zimbabwe that we do our celebrations from province to province.

“In the previous year, we were in Masvingo, then in 2022 we were in Mutare and the year prior to that we were in Matabeleland so we keep rotating our provinces because blood donation is a national programme that’s why we move from province to province.

“So we will be holding our celebrations for 2024 in the Midlands Province and tentatively we have put our venue as Kwekwe High School; all things being equal, we will meet on the Saturday the 15th of June at Kwekwe High School.

“And we are looking at a target of 600 units that we want to collect on that one day,” said Marowa.

She added that the World Blood Donor Day had become a symbol of recognition for the blood donors as they had done their best to make it donor centric, by bringing in blood donors.

“We have a massive blood drive, we do our donor awards and we make sure that it is a day filled with fun and a lot of activities for our blood donors.

“This is to make sure that as we are saying thank you to the blood donors, they really feel that this is a day that has been set aside for them and they take part in a lot of activities that will be happening for them, by them.

“So this is the reason why we are doing this on a Saturday the 15th of June in Kwekwe. The following year it could be a different one, there is no formula that we use to select the provinces.

“We just make sure that wherever the donors are, we actually go to them. So all roads lead to Kwekwe this year in the Midlands Province,” said Marowa.

She further revealed that the day had come about at the 58th World Health Assembly in 2005 where ministers of health from different nations resolved that it is important to recognize the role that voluntary none remunerated blood donors play in the life saving business of the health care.

“Where upon these people (none remunerated blood donors) have taken it upon themselves to give blood free of charge for people that need it in the medical institutions.

“And we all know that voluntary none remunerated blood donations is actually one of the key pillars in the delivery of quality healthcare services.

“There are many forms of blood services that are available. We have what is called family replacement blood donors, we also have what is called paid donors and many other forms that are available.

“But voluntary none remunerated blood donors, which means giving blood without expecting any financial or material gain is considered the safest form of blood model that countries should adopt.

“So in the year 2005, the ministers of health decided that we want to honour the men and women who are giving their blood free of charge, hence the birth of World Blood Donor Day in that particular year. So this year as we celebrate 20 years since the launch of World Blood Donor Day, we are celebrating with a different theme all together.

“This year our theme is actually entitled, “20 years of celebrating giving, thank you blood donors,” added Marowa.

She also revealed that as NBSZ they are calling on corporates and individuals who can partner them so as to make this day a success.

 

Zim hopes to benefit from US$600 million cervical cancer fund

Dr Bente Mikkelsen and Dr Douglas Mombeshora-pic WHO Zimbabwe

BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA

Zimbabwe is hoping to be one of the countries set to benefit from US$600 million which global health funders have pledged for the elimination of cervical cancer.

The money is meant for increasing vaccination, screening and treatment of the disease, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports is the fourth most common cancer in women globally.

WHO further reports that there were around 660 000 new cases and around 350 000 deaths in 2022 owing to the disease.

During her recent visit to Zimbabwe along with her colleagues from WHO headquarters, Dr Bente Mikkelsen, Director NCD (at WHO Headquarters), said if everything is put in place, the country could benefit from this cervical cancer initiative.

“So we are very happy, this is the first time since the cervical cancer elimination initiative was launched by Dr Tedros (Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General), that many partners come together. So until now, the funding partners were only focusing on more or less on the vaccination.

“So now everybody realised that we have to do at least two things at the same time, we need to vaccinate, we need to screen and treat the early stages and of course we need to offer treatment.

“So I’m very happy this is a good sign, it’s a game changer but as I have said this is not money we can call on just like this, we need to present cases, we need to work with the partners, we need to make World Bank, the Global Fund, the Gates, all these partners, USAID, coming together and they have realized this commitment.

“So this is why I’m here as well, I was invited by the Honourable Minister (Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Douglas Mombeshora), we were both in Colombia (at the Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Forum), so we are trying to make this happen in Zimbabwe,” said Dr Mikkelsen.

Dr Mikkelsen added that the pledged US$600 million is a lot of money which would go a long way in fighting cervical cancer but countries had to apply for it.

“It’s not money that we can just grab, we need to apply for it, we need to show what we need, so that we have a shopping list of what we need and this is also something that we would want to help you. There are a lot of partners, and I think we can support Zimbabwe to get use on some of these new pledges but also maybe to make the partnerships more efficient,” she added.

Dr Mombeshora said getting global health funders make such a pledge would go a long way in eliminating cervical cancer, as he also revealed that no county could work alone on this fight, hence there is need to have partners.

“We work with partners, you can’t work in isolation, like the doctor (Dr Mikkelsen) said, we met in Colombia; and during that meeting, we came up with this issue of saying we need support and they said for us to be able to support you, we want to see, what is on the ground.

“That’s why we are also taking them to the rural area where the screening starts and the difficulties that are met there, then we can map a way forward.

“Like she said, we will come up with a document from this visit and we will be meeting again in Geneva in three weeks’ time and maybe come up with a concrete arrangement to say how do we move forward, what kind of support can we get from them,” said Dr Mombeshora.

He added, “she mentioned now that there is a fund that has been established of US$600 million, we want to tap into that, so that we can also get equipment, get training so that we strengthen our cervical cancer elimination plan, so that’s the way we are heading to.”

It is reported that while cervical cancer is preventable and treatable, Zimbabwe continues to lose 2 000 women to the disease every, hence there is need for more consented efforts to fight this disease.

And it is also estimated that 3 000 new cases are diagnosed each year as the country is ranked fourth globally and in the region.

Zimbabwe introduced a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program in 2018, achieving an impressive coverage rate of 89,7 percent in the first year of introduction.

The country also established screening programmes for early detection of cervical cancer, though the screening coverage remains low, with only 20 percent of the population accessing screening services as of 2019.

It is also reported that urban areas exhibited a screening rate as low as 3 percent, while rural areas saw slightly higher rates of 10 percent.

Screening programmes are available with over 200 sites conducting Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIAC) and 60 sites performing HPV tests for early detection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAO’s Farm Field School; a game changer for rural poultry farmers

Elina Takaedza-poultry farmer from Murewa, sharing her experience with the Farm Field School

BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA

 

Murewa poultry farmers who are beneficiaries of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) supported Farm Field School, have revealed that the programme which was teaching them about Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), had not only helped them with the much needed knowledge but also improved their livelihoods.

The villagers revealed this on Day 5 (Wednesday) of the World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week for the Africa Campaign which was held at Mukusha Homestead in Kambarami Village.

Several farmers revealed that before the coming in of FAO, they were self diagnosing and self medicating their chickens, thereby not only endangering the lives of their birds but their own too.

Elina Takaedza aged 53, from Ward 10, revealed that before the project, she was not aware what AMR was about and how it concerned her as a poultry farmer.

Takaedza revealed that the project started in June 2021 in Chidhakwa Village and they were 25.

“What I can say is that we were not aware of this programme but now I can say that I’m well knowledgeable on the issue, all thanks to FAO.

“Now I know that you have to use correct medication when rearing our poultry.

“We were using some drugs which are not supposed to be used for poultry. We were taking medication meant for humans and giving it to our chickens.

“But we then we got to know that the over use or under use of antimicrobials will lead to antimicrobial resistance. We also got to learn that AMR will be a concern to humans if they are to eat the meat where AMR was a risk.

“It’s really a tough scenario because most people are unaware consuming meat where there was a risk of AMR.

She added that whilst some people who were not part of the programme thought it was easy, thinking they were just getting everything for free, it wasn’t so as hard work had to be practiced to succeed.

“What I can just say is that FAO gave us something that we will never forget.

“At first we didn’t know that there was a special medication for poultry which cannot be used for humans but now we have that knowledge.

“So we were taught on behavioral change in antimicrobial use and we also realised that we can produce more in our farming production.”

Takaedza also revealed that they were empowered on bio-security measures and they were told by the experts to do what is best for their production.

She further said that they started off with 100 chickens and bags of feed but already, all members were able to get 25 birds and feed each, as proceeds from the initial 100 birds batch.

Takaedza also said they have continued with their project which continues to bear fruits for them.

Another farmer openly revealed that she had been using antibiotics to treat her chickens before she finally saw the light and is now bearing the fruits of this FAO led initiative.

School pupils acting a drama about AMR in poultry farming

Amanda Gwangwadze an Agricultural Extension Officer, who trained the farmers revealed that they had to study what was causing AMR issues.

“So we found out that the major driver of AMR is antimicrobial use and in this we were looking at it in relation to broilers whereby people get to eat those (broilers) which have resistance towards antibiotics.

“So when someone eats a chicken which had developed resistance towards antibiotics for example, this is not good for their health.

“Some people were using antibiotics like amoxyline and then others were using antiretrovirals which are all meant for humans.

“The farmers were using the antibiotics so that their chickens appear very good for the market,” said Gwangwadze.

She revealed that the programme initially started with 19 farmers, before the number grew to 25 but then they later had a few drop outs.

Gwangwadze added that the main objective was to get farmers was to have behaviour change in how they were using antibiotics.

“They (farmers) were abusing antibiotics for their chickens and with time, because of the abuse of the medication, it then got to lose its effect.

“But after the training, they got to know that they had to seek expert’s advice from the Vet or Agricultural Extension Officers.

“We would have situations where farmers were giving their chickens ARVs and looking at the birds’ sizes, you could tell something was amiss and some would confess,” said Gwangwadze.

She added that they were also training farmers on bio security measures; hygiene practices needed in rearing of chickens so as to get better production.

And to show that the AMR awareness programme in poultry farming had really been well received in the Murewa rural, pupils from nearby schools were reciting poems and acting dramas on AMR.

And not to be outdone by the pupils, the farmers who were part of the Farm Field School, also showed that they were good students after all, reciting poems and acted dramas on AMR much to the appreciation of guests who gathered at Mukusha Homestead.

 

 

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Involve youths in AMR Awareness

Ngoni Veddie Muzondo
Co-Founder and Head of Programmes of Generational Stewards for Antimicrobials

BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA

Tom Mann once said, “The future of the world belongs to the youth of the world, and it is from the youth and not from the old, that the fire of life will warm and enlighten the world.”

And it is in that same thought, that experts in the global health sector have resolved that involving the youths in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) awareness is a step in the right direction.

The World Health Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), reports that “youths play a pivotal role in advocating for increased political and public support to combat AMR across sectors and in raising awareness of AMR as a pressing social issue.”

Also the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that “AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.”

And pursuant to this, on the third day (Monday 20 November) of the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week Campaign for Africa, several speakers who spoke on AMR One Health Multisectoral Collaboration and Governance; said it was imperative to include the youths in raising awareness on the matter.

Doctor Anima Sirma from Veterinary Services in Kenya, said in her country they were involving the youths on AMR awareness in several ways, one of which was the introduction of primary education books on AMR, as the subject is being taught.

Doctor Sirma further said that during this WAAW 2023, “there are also other specific activities for the youth and even some webinar, where they are also involved.”

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), it was reported that they had decided to start with the young people in terms of AMR awareness, “because for adults, their habits die hard but with the young ones, there can be behavioral change.

“They (young people) can tell their parents that we were told that for you to use antibiotics, you need to have a prescription. “This can work, we have done this in DRC; we have also gone to the churches and even used football to raise awareness on AMR.”

Presenting on Zimbabwe, Dr Tapfumanei Mashe, an AMR Project Coordinator, said they had actively involved youths in AMR awareness.

He revealed that as part of WAAW Africa 2023, they had organized a high schools soccer tournament on raising awareness on AMR as well as the AMR debate.

Dr Mashe further added that the Generational Stewards for Antimicrobials was also established and that the AMR Awareness walkathon which has been set for Friday, had also been organized by the youths.

Speaking to this reporter on the sidelines of WAAWAfrica 2023, Co-founder and Head of Programmes of Generational Stewards for Antimicrobials, Ngoni Veddie Muzondo, a pharmacy student at the Harare Institute of Technology, said the programme was established last year so as to raise AMR awareness as well as other health issues.

“Generational Stewards for Antimicrobials is a One Health AMR platform for young people especially students so what we are doing is we are trying to raise awareness amongst the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary students so that they become agents of change.

“We want transformation in these young people so that we engage them whilst they are still young and when they grow older, they will be responsible for all the global health issues that will be happening within the world,” said Muzondo.

He said having students involved in this fight will help curb this rising global health concern which is responsible for millions of deaths globally.

Muzondo also revealed that when they started, they gathered all the healthcare students who were interested in global health, before they designated them to various roles.

“So one of the leading projects that we are doing at the moment is the Glen View and Mufakose Education and Antimicrobial Resistance Programme, to raise awareness amongst the 28 primary and secondary schools that are in Glen View and Mufakose.

“So far we have managed to cover three schools so we are trying to reach out to each and every primary and secondary student so that we create Antimicrobial Resistance Clubs that will actually act as repositories or sites where these students will get knowledge on antimicrobial resistance.

“And we are also targeting teachers because teachers are the ones that educate these students and they are the guardians when they are at school, so we want to have these teachers trained on antimicrobial resistance and other global health issues like water and sanitation hygiene,” added Muzondo.

He also revealed that they focus on leadership so as to equip the students with all the necessary skills needed in the future.

“We are also focusing on sexual reproductive and health issues so that these students whenever they are doing their programmes, they understand the rights that they have as students.

“We are also focusing on career guidance; we don’t want students to get to university without knowing what they want as individuals, so we want to catch them young as early as primary school level, so that they know what they want. “We work with the One Health AMR team in Zimbabwe, the World Health Organisation and several other stakeholders within the AMR fields,” said Muzondo.

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AMR Soccer Tournament lives to billing

…as Seke High 1 are crowned champions

 

Some of the Seke High 1 students receiving their winners’ medals

BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA

 

The Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) awareness high schools soccer tournament which was part of the continental celebration of the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2023 in Harare, lived to its expectations as many people from different community backgrounds attended.

The tournament which was held at Prince Edward High School on Sunday (November 19), saw several schools battling out for the honours but the glory was to belong to Seke High 1 who were crowned champions.

Seke High 1 defeated Glen Norah 2 High in finals which were decided by the dreaded penalties.

Speaking on the sidelines of the final match, Dr Mohamed Sirdar, Sub Regional Programme Coordinator for Southern Africa at World Health Organisation for Animal Health, said he was happy that the event lived to their expectations.

“The soccer tournament was creating awareness on antimicrobial resistance and its effect on our health systems, either for the humans, animals and environmental plants.

“And we hope that awareness to the high school pupils or students is one of the powerful tools so that we can have the message spread in the community and thats why we chose football for the high schools for this tournament to be able to enhance awareness on AMR in Zimbabwe.”

Dr Sirdar added that having many people from various community backgrounds was the icing on the cake as the message was being delivered to many people.

“Given that we have almost 500 spectators, having people from different community backgrounds and also we are happy one of the football legends Oscar (Machapa) is here with us and having also some of our representatives from all these organisations.

“So I can say we believe that we have exceeded our expectations,” said Dr Sirdar.

And indeed the AMR message was really being emphasized at the tournament as the talented soccer commentator was also spreading the message as he went about his commentary much to the appreciation of the crowd.

And the message was also clearly spread to the students as some of those interviewed by this reporter spoke on the dangers of abusing medication.

“This subject (AMR) was new to me but I’m happy that I have learnt that we should not self medicate, I have also learnt that I should use the right medication for the disease and only after being prescribed by the doctor,” said one student.

Zimbabwe with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), in partnership with African Union agencies, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU IBAR) is hosting WAAW 2023 with several events lined up.

The commemorations which started on November 18 and will end this Friday, are running under the theme, “Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together”, which emphasizes the importance of collective action to address the global health challenge of antimicrobial resistance.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.

 

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