Project boosts Covid-19 vaccine uptake in Salima

A Christian Aid Malawi and Journalists Association Against Aids joint advocacy project has helped to increase Covid-19 vaccine uptake in Salima District, it has emerged.

Christian Aid head of programme Dunia Mphande said this on Tuesday during multi-stakeholder dialogue on the uptake of Covid-19 vaccine in Lilongwe.

The six-month project was designed to enhance Covid-19 vaccine uptake and access to populations in need in Salima and influence policymaking and implementation processes at national level.

Said Mphande: “We have made a lot of milestones from where we started. Salima was among the lowest in terms of vaccine uptake. It was at less than 30 percent.

“We targeted four traditional authorities, namely Kuluunda, Kalonga, Ndindi and Maganga. We have figures, but we are waiting for a formal evaluation. This far, in terms of unofficial figures from the monthly reports, we have reached more than 50 percent of those that have been vaccinated in those areas.”

She further said they achieved the feat by addressing misconceptions surrounding the Covid-19 vaccines.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and Cholera co-chairperson Wilfred Chalamira Nkhoma has hailed the project as crucial considering the country’s low Covid-19 vaccine uptake.

He said currently the country has fully vaccinated around 36 percent, which is far below the global target of 70 percent.

However, the task force has also intensified the push to accelerate Covid-19 vaccination through the Tithetse Kolera Campaign launched by President Lazarus Chakwera three weeks ago in Lilongwe.