“Government must improve Covid 19 vaccine distribution in Tsholotsho North”

Communities who are part of Heal Zimbabwe Community Peace Clubs (CPCs) in Tsholotsho North have expressed concern over the shortage of Covid 19 vaccines at most clinics.

This came out during a virtual dialogue organized by communities working with Heal Zimbabwe on 15 August 2021.

Participants noted that most clinics in wards 4, 8, 1 and 5 have run out of the vaccines and this has seen many people travelling to Tsholotsho Centre where the vaccines are readily available.

Here in ward 8, most clinics have run out of the vaccines and most of us here are still waiting for the second dose. People are being forced to travel long distances to Tsholotsho Centre where the vaccines are readily available” said one participant.

Participants also noted that this was also necessitated by a poor road infrastructure in some wards.

More recently Ministry of health officials failed to access Ngamo clinic in ward 3 because of the poor road network. This delays distribution of vaccines to health centers located in some remote wards”, added another participant from ward 3.

Participants also reported that vaccine uptake has increased in Tsholotsho North as most people are beginning to take the pandemic seriously. As part of resolutions, the dialogue meeting resolved that there was need for the CPCs to continue raising awareness on COVID 19 and mobilizing community members to get vaccinated.

The virtual meetings by Heal Zimbabwe are part of efforts to empower local communities to help safeguard against human rights abuse and also help build peaceful communities.

Heal Zimbabwe utilizes various strategies to address conflicts in local communities. One of these ways is the use of community dialogues, an initiative for communities to discuss and collectively identify ways through which they can proffer solutions to problems in their communities.

The platforms also equip communities with relevant information on Covid 19, Gender Based Violence (GBV) and human rights. Such platforms also facilitate local level conversations on pertinent issues affecting communities as well as create socially cohesive communities.