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Child health days
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
November 23, 2007

Zimbabwe's second round of the biannual Child Health Days - a critical campaign targeting all children under five years of age with polio vaccine, Vitamin A supplementation, and basic childhood immunisation - begins on Monday.

Now in their third consecutive year, Child Health Days have played a significant role in raising immunisation rates and boosting child survival efforts in Zimbabwe. On the back of the health campaigns, immunisation coverage for children under five has increased to more than 80 percent (from below 60 percent in 2001) for all childhood vaccinations and Vitamin A supplementation.

The Child Health Days (CHDs) are steered by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare in partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Helen Keller International.

In addition to an increase in immunisation coverage, the partnership has resulted in:

• Not a single case of reported polio since 1990
• Reported cases of suspected measles dropping by 84% since 2004. Vitamin A supplementation is critical in this. Since the advent of the Child Health Days Vitamin A supplementation in Zimbabwe has increased from 46percent to more than 80percent
• No reported cases on whooping cough in the last two years.
  In turn, these improvements have played a critical role in reducing Zimbabwe's child mortality due to vaccine preventable diseases

"The timing of this campaign is critical," said UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe, Dr Festo Kavishe. "Zimbabwe is winning the war against polio - not a single case has been reported in 18 years, but the new cases around Africa necessitate that we remain vigilant. At the same time, Child Health Days are a critical boost to health services that are under great stress as CHDs have dramatically increased coverage of immunisation for Zimbabwe's children."

The week-long campaign is aided by essential funding from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), Canada's International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Government of Ireland. More than US$1million is spent on vaccines, logistics and social mobilization, a critical component to the campaign's success is the time devoted by health staff and volunteers across the country.

"Tens of thousands of selfless, hardworking medical staff and volunteers underscore why there is so much reason to be positive in Zimbabwe," said UNICEF's Head of Health, Dr Colleta Kibassa. "These people will ensure that no child falls within the cracks. Already they have conducted weeks of community mobilisation activities to schools, community centres and clinics across the country, ensuring that all parents know why and where to take their children to be immunised against tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and polio, and to receive Vitamin A supplementation."

While Zimbabwe has not reported a polio case since 1990, there has been a looming threat from the neighboring countries which recorded cases in recent years. "There remain many battles for children still to be won," said UNICEF's Dr Kavishe, "but with continued international support I am confident polio is one in a chain of victories,"

With donor assistance from the UK and Japan, UNICEF provides support to the Zimbabwe Expanded Programme on Immunisation (ZEPI) and procures all vaccines for immunisation, cold chain equipment for vaccine storage and technical support to the health workers.

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