Last weekend, Sister Edina Shayanewako, a nurse at Igava Clinic, and her colleagues had an extremely busy weekend conducting a #polio #immunisation programme in Marondera, #Zimbabwe.
UNICEF and World Health Organization (WHO) issued an “urgent call to action” in November 2022 to avert polio epidemics as COVID-19 has left major disruptions in immunisation services. Both organisations have warned that failure to eradicate polio now will lead to a “global resurgence of the disease, resulting in as many as 200,000 new cases annually, within 10 years”. Immunisation is vital for every child from zero to five years old to eradicate the disease and save people from polio’s adverse, life-altering effects.
The Igava Clinic were working on a target of under 80 children a day last weekend. However, with the help of Hamba, Sister Shayanewako professed how successful the program had been, matching and then going beyond their original target! Her team worked tirelessly to make sure no child was left behind and visited farms across Marondera, many of which were far from the clinic – a time consuming and laborious walk pre-hamba. The hamba was used to conduct door-to-door services, searching for every child under 5 years to make sure everyone got their immunisation!
Marondera is a commercial area where many people are employed at farms. Many parents struggle to get time to take their children for immunisations so were thrilled with the service Sister Shayanewako and her colleagues provided.
“It would not be possible without the help of the Hamba”, Sister Shayanewako maintained. Mobility for Africa are proud we were able to assist by giving the clinic two more Hambas which helped them to meet their targets, making sure that they would not have to leave a child without their dosage. Hambas for health!
For more information on: Polio Eradication