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Mukudzei Chingwere Herald Reporter

Zimbabwe has launched the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV), becoming the third country in the world to make it part of its routine childhood immunisation programme, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has noted.

Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Constantino Chiwenga launched the vaccination promotion today which starts on May 24 up to June 4.

He said it will provide catch up Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine vaccination for over 6 million children aged nine months to below 15 years in line with recommendations from global and local immunisation experts.

“Thereafter, all children in Zimbabwe will begin to receive Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine through routine immunisation at nine months of age,” said VP Chiwenga.

“Today we officially launch a nationwide campaign to introduce Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) into routine childhood immunisation in Zimbabwe as part of a broader strategy to eliminate epidemic prone diseases.

“The introduction of typhoid vaccination is being done in line with Government’s thrust to improve the quality of life of citizens, particularly children, by protecting them from disease outbreaks using vaccines,” said VP Chiwenga.

United Nations agencies, WHO and United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have commended Zimbabwe for its positive response to health issues.