^{_{By Vivian Mugarisi}}

Zimbabwe has embarked on the final phase of its national polio vaccination campaign, targeting 2.6 million children below the age of five. This campaign is part of a series of vaccination drives recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners, as part of the comprehensive response to Polio outbreaks in the Southern Africa region. The vaccination campaign is being conducted through door-to-door visits and at strategic points such as bus terminals and growth points, as well as all clinics and hospitals across the country.

The GPEI partners, who include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Crown Agents, Gavi-the Vaccine Alliance, Rotary Club, UNICEF, and WHO are also providing technical and financial support.

During the campaign's launch at Chinotimba Clinic in Victoria Falls today, the Ministry of Health and Child Care Minister Dr. Douglas Mombeshora said the campaigns serve as a reminder of the severe consequences of Poliomyelitis. He added that this dangerous disease causes debilitating paralysis and death, particularly among children, and vaccination campaigns as these contribute to commitments towards global eradication targets.

"For the record, no polio case has been reported in Zimbabwe, which underscores the need to intensify these collaborative polio response activities. Vaccination is our primary strategy to mitigate potential importation of the disease into the country," added Dr Mombeshora.

Recognizing the efforts of government in the four rounds of polio vaccination, WHO Representative to Zimbabwe, Professor Jean-Marie Dangou also acknowledged the work being done by all stakeholders to increase vaccination coverage across the country, not just for polio.

"I appreciate the health workers in Zimbabwe at all levels of the health care system who have worked tirelessly to ensure all eligible children have received their vaccines," he said.

The GPEI Coordinator in Zimbabwe Dr Khalid Abdelrahim added; “The GPEI continues to support countries to mitigate the risk of polio importation and maintain the polio free status in the Southern African region particularly in Zimbabwe.”

Mass vaccinations are typically conducted to interrupt the transmission of vaccine-preventable diseases like polio, regardless of the target population's vaccination status. For Zimbabwe, these vaccination drives are preventive measures to guard against the risk of importation from neighboring countries that have confirmed the virus. Other countries participating in the vaccination drives include Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. Over 80 million doses have been administered to more than 20 million children to date.

As part of the preparations for this campaign, WHO provided technical expertise and committed over US$2.5 million to strengthen surveillance activities. This included the initiation of environmental surveillance, a pilot project recently introduced in Harare. Provinces and districts are also receiving support to assess facility preparedness and readiness. Additionally, WHO funded activities to raise community awareness. Stakeholder meetings at the national and provincial levels, as well as coordination meetings leading up to, during, and after the campaign, are also being supported by WHO.

Polio is a viral disease that can be prevented through vaccination but has no cure. The virus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis within hours, particularly among children under five years old. It is transmitted from person to person mainly through contaminated hands, water, or food by fecal matter.