Tanzania was one of the African countries that delayed the vaccine, a stand that was in contrast to the country’s previous record on vaccines such as a 99 percent coverage of child immunisation which ranked the country among top ten countries in Africa.
Dar es Salaam. The United Nations has commended government efforts to fully vaccinate 70 percent of its population against Covid-19, saying if the speed is maintained and improved, then the country will reach its target.
This was said yesterday by UN Assistant Secretary-General Ted Chaiban during his four-day official visit to Tanzania.
Mr Chaiban, who doubles as the Global Lead Coordinator for Covid-19 Vaccine Delivery Partnership (CoVDP), explained that progress made by the country was commendable as Tanzania delayed in rolling out the said vaccinations.
Tanzania was one of the African countries that delayed the vaccine, a stand that was in contrast to the country’s previous record on vaccines such as a 99 percent coverage of child immunisation which ranked the country among top ten countries in Africa.
“Tanzania was late in rolling out Covid-19 vaccinations, but we commend the government for the tremendous efforts made to make these vaccines available to the people through mass campaigns and in health facilities,” acclaimed Mr Chaiban.
He noted that Tanzania needed to keep up the momentum and accelerate jab uptake by ensuring vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with underlying conditions are given priority and deliberate effort is put into ensuring that all are vaccinated.
“There is high demand of the vaccines in Tanzania due to the ongoing accelerated nationwide campaigns, as of June 2, this year; the national vaccination rate was 6.3 percent yet as of July the fifth, the rate has doubled 12.4 percent,” he illustrated.
Data from the Ministry of Health indicated, as of July the fifth, Tanzania has received 21, 226, 520 doses of which at least 17, 413,230 have been distributed whereas 13,261,968 doses have been administered.
Thanks to frontline health workers who administer the doses as in less than a year, Tanzania has managed to fully vaccinate 27.83 percent of its targeted population aged 18 and above (30.7 million), and 14.04 percent of the targeted total population (about 59 million).
In April last year, President Samia Suluhu Hassan formed a technical team whose recommendations prompted the government in June same year, to file a request for vaccine from COVAX which distributes vaccines to low-income countries.
The following month (July), Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa confirmed Tanzania has received the first batch of 1 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines donated by the U.S. government.
According to the Premier, the goal was to vaccinate at least 60 percent of the total population estimated at 58 million, though there was neither the reason for the chosen proportion nor the timeline to which the goal is to be achieved.
Nonetheless, in late July, President Samia received her Johnson & Johnson vaccine against COVID-19 at the State House in Dar es Salaam.
In another development, Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu said nearly 7,500 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 since the commencement of the ongoing Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF).
Ms Ummy Mwalimu noted that the government will deploy various strategies to ensure 70 percent of adult citizens receive the jabs by the end of the year.
These include using all national events, deploying celebrities for a countrywide campaign, the use of both mainstream and social media which would help to reach the country’s masses. Additional report by Hellen Nachilongo
