North Western Province has reached the 10 percent COVID-19 vaccination coverage for eligible persons.
Last month President Hakainde Hichilema during the relaunch of the COVID-19 vaccination gave a directive to all provinces and districts to at least vaccinate 10 percent of the total eligible population.
This came to light during the COVID-19 Vaccines Town Hall Sensation meeting for civil society organisations organised by the African Union-Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC) in Solwezi.
North Western Province Director of Health Dr. Charles Msiska stated that to achieve the target given by government, the region has put in place a system called Incident Management System (IMS) which was domesticated from Polio and used it positively.
Dr. Msiska revealed that the system comprises of a multi sectorial committee of key stakeholders such as the mines, traditional leaders, the church, civil society organisations among others.
“To further on achieve positive results from North Western, again the Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI) and other partners such as the World Health Organisation has devised a plan to prevent the spread of the pandemic,” said Dr. Msiska.
He however indicated that districts such as Chavuma, Zambezi, Kabompo, Ikelengi, Mwinilunga and Manyinga haven’t reached the 10 percent target while districts such as Solwezi, Kasempa, Kalumbila and Mufumbwe have reached the target.
And Dr. Msiska disclosed that during the first and second waves of the pandemic, the province recorded over 250 deaths with 8 in the first wave.
He said the province has now started preparing for the fourth wave by implementing continuous staff training.
“And we will not just end at training our staff but also some community members because some of our clients are managed at community level,” he said.
And North Western Province Permanent Secretary Beatrice Muyambango in a speech read for her by Provincial Plannner Davison Makozi disclosed that Zambia has acquired over 2 million doses in combination of Astrazenaca, Johnson and Johnson, Sinopharm, and Modena.
He however said hesitancy among the majority of the population remains a concern despite increasing demand for vaccines.
He applauded civil society for their resolve and the pivotal role they play in the alleviation of social difficulties associated with the epidemic.
He emphasised the continued need for civil society’s support, public awareness, advocacy, resource mobilisation and capacity building for frontline staff.
Meanwhile, AU-ECOSOCC head of secretariat William Carew said ECOSOCC has been a major player leading the sensitisation and awareness raising campaigns by working with like minded institutions both at the continental level and also nationally.
“These campaigns have been aimed at sharing credible and authoritative information on Covid19 to the African citizen, “he said.
