Maputo, 24 de Julho - On July 22 the Ministry of Health successfully completed the second round of the emergency cholera vaccination campaign in districts affected by tropical cyclone Idai which affected Sofala province in central Mozambique in March 2019.

Like the first round, held in April this year, over 800,000 people over the age of one were vaccinated.

A workforce of approximately 1500 people, including community members and health workers came together to implement the vaccination campaign. It was administered to the highest-risk communities identified by the government of Beira, Buzi, Dondo, Muanza, Nhamatanda and Sussundenga districts. The vaccine was donated by the World Alliance for Vaccination and Immunization (GAVI) and came from the World Cholera Vaccine stock.

“The campaign went very well and a high number of people presented for the vaccine,” said Dr. José Langa, senior researcher and expert at the Ministry of Health.

An example is the Ndjejda resettlement neighborhood, located in Nhamatanda District, where by the end of the third day of vaccination teams had already reached most members of the 402 families residing there. Neighbourhood leaders set an example, as they were the first to get the cholera vaccine.

Castigo Mungolemba, a local leader who has lived in that neighborhood since last April, thanked the health authorities for making the vaccine available. 

“Me, my wife and my children are all getting the vaccine for the second time to prevent cholera. As a matter of fact, we are all very well here in our neighborhood, ”said Mungolemba.

Meanwhile Nito Zoronejo, Deputy Secretary of the neighborhood added, “I got the vaccine to avoid getting cholera. Everyone in my house took it and no one had problems.”

The two leaders of Ndjejda neighborhood have appealed to the other leaders to have everyone get the vaccine “so that people believe it is good.”

One of the new approaches in this round is the implementation of an innovative approach called Temperature Controlled Chain (CTC), a vaccine conservation strategy that allows the vaccine to be stored and transported at room temperature up to 40 degrees Celsius over a maximum of 14 days. 

This approach addresses the main challenges of vaccine conservation, as a large number of the inhabitants of cyclone-affected areas live in resettlement areas where electrical power infrastructure has not yet been installed.

Mozambique is the first country to officially implement CTC in cholera vaccination.

"With the cold chain challenges facing the country, CTC allows the vaccine to reach more people at a lower cost," said Dr Djamila Cabral, WHO Representative in Mozambique.

By taking the second dose of cholera vaccine the body creates immunity for a period of five years.

The oral cholera vaccine is one of the life-saving measures that prevent the spread of this terrible disease. Other cholera prevention measures include access to safe drinking water and sanitation, as well as compliance with individual and collective hygiene measures.
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