Government urged to increase awareness on Covid-19 vaccination

Kahama. Government has been urged to increase public awareness efforts on the Covid-19 vaccination in order to reach as many people as possible, especially in rural areas where an estimated 70 percent of the population lives.
The call was made in Kahama District in Shinyanga region during the regional health stakeholders meeting to evaluate Covid-19 vaccination efforts being implemented by Tanzania Health Promotion Support (THPS), a local NGO, through its Afya Hatua project.
Currently, according to the THPS executive director, Dr Redempta Mbatia, only 127, 071 people have been vaccinated in Shinyanga region with a coverage of over one million people who are eligible to be vaccinated.
She said the figure was up to May 25 according to the reports from THPS Afya Hatua project implemented in collaboration with Shinyanga Regional and Councils Health Management Teams (RCHMTS) with funding from the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) through US Centers for Disease and Control, CDC.
Due to the low pace, the Shinyanga regional health stakeholders convened to evaluate and agree on collaborative efforts to boost Covid-19 vaccination in the area.
Officiating the stake holders meeting in Kahama District over the weekend, Shinyanga’s Regional Commissioner Ms Sophia Mjema urged Shinyanga residents to effectively utilize Covid-19 vaccination services because it will save their lives.
"To the Shinyanga Regional and Councils Health Management Teams (RCHMTS), I'm giving you 30 days to implement agreed efforts to boost the uptake of Covid-19 vaccination from the current 13 percent to 70 percent," said Ms Mjema.
Dr Eva Matiko from US CDC assured the Government that the agency is committed to continuing supporting Covid-19 vaccinations both at the health facilities and the surrounding communities.
"CDC-Tanzania through its implementing partners, will expand its Covid-19 support to the Government of Tanzania to target delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to additional beneficiary groups at the community and facility levels at 11 supported regions, Shinyanga being among them. Strong relationship between the local government and the programs is important for optimizing resource," said Dr. Matiko
THPS Executive Director, Dr Redempta Mbatia stressed on the importance of joint efforts between the stakeholders to come up with plans that will engage grass root community, political and community based leaders contribute to greater yields in Covid-19 vaccination efforts.
"We should jointly review and discuss Covid-19 vaccination progress in Shinyanga region and agree on the strategies to scale up Covid-19 vaccination using additional Global vax funding through community-based approaches including use of mobile teams for community outreaches," urged Dr Mbatia

CDC-Tanzania through its Implementing Partners in collaboration with the Government of Tanzania have been successful ensuring a synergistic integration of Covid-19 vaccination into its routine programming.