Hospitals in Zimbabwe have run out of the Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT) vaccine, putting the lives of many children at risk. In Matabeleland North children under the age of two have been going without their immunisation shots. A parent who has a one year and six month old baby was disappointed last
week when she went to a government referral hospital only to be told that there was no DPT vaccine for her infant.
The visibly worried woman said the government, through the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, should implement measures to avoid an outbreak of diseases among children who failed to get immunised.
“I took my baby for DPT immunisation but I was told that there was no such vaccine. That has never happened in many years and we appeal to the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare to prioritise the lives of children through providing essential drugs,” said the woman who requested anonymity. Another parent, who recently visited a council clinic in Pelandaba, said the DPT
vaccine was unavailable.
She said the clinic staff told mothers who had brought their children for immunisation that they were not certain when the vaccine would be available. When contacted for comment, the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr Henry Madzorera, refused to discuss the matter saying that it was the weekend.
A doctor at Mpilo Central Hospitals’ Children’s Hospital also confirmed that the country was hit by the shortage of the essential drug. He said the situation was not peculiar to Bulawayo but other health institutions countrywide were suffering the same problem.
“We haven’t had the DTP vaccine for more than a month now but we hope the situation will change for the better,” said the doctor who cannot be named for professional reasons.
Post published in: Analysis