Health Ministry urged councils to strengthen vaccination services

DAR ES SALAAM: THE Ministry of Health has urged Regions and Councils to strengthen vaccination services by developing new methods to reach children who have not received any vaccinations (zero-dose) or who have not completed the vaccination schedule, in order to increase protection against vaccine-preventable diseases. The instructions were given by the Director of Medical Services, Dr Hamad Nyembea, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr Seif Shekalaghe, during the opening of the Annual Meeting on the Implementation of Vaccination Services in the Country held in Dar es Salaam. Dr Nyembea said that despite the successes achieved in the implementation of vaccination services for more than five consecutive years where more than 80 percent of the target population has continued to be reached, there are still groups of children in pastoralist communities, fishermen, mining areas as well as some urban areas that have not been fully reached by these services. ALSO READ: Beyond hashtags: The two intellectual giants Tanzania forgot to applaud “The government has prepared a National Immunization Strategy for the year 2026–2030 that aims to ensure that vaccination services reach all beneficiaries and build a society protected against vaccine-preventable diseases.” said Dr Nyembea In addition, Dr Nyembea explained that there is still a challenge in monitoring vaccine-preventable diseases including Measles and Polio, a situation that results in the failure to identify early cases of these diseases and take appropriate preventive and control measures. “The Ministry of Health has urged Councils and health service centers to make full use of the opportunity to transport samples through the Postal Corporation as well as allocate resources for the identification of cases, collection of samples and their transport to strengthen the monitoring of these diseases.” said Dr Nyembea Dr Nyembea also emphasized the importance of strengthening backpack services and mobile services in areas with challenges in accessing health services, explaining that these services are an important tool to reach beneficiaries who cannot reach health service centers. In parallel, Dr Nyembea has directed Regional and Council Chief Medical Officers to ensure that vaccination services are provided daily at health care facilities in accordance with national guidelines, as well as to supervise the proper use of vaccines by considering the procedure of first using vaccines that are close to their expiration date. “The success of vaccination services will depend more on the ability of health professionals, community leaders and various stakeholders to collaborate in reaching the target population where they are and ensuring that no child misses out on vaccination services due to challenges of distance, information or housing conditions,” said Dr Nyembea. The post Health Ministry urged councils to strengthen vaccination services first appeared on Daily News . The post Health Ministry urged councils to strengthen vaccination services appeared first on Daily News .