Zimbabwe launches week-long immunization campaign with funding from Japan

Jun 20 2012

"Zimbabwe embarked on a massive immunization campaign against measles and polio on Monday, targeting about two million children under the age of five," VOA News reports. "Health and Child Welfare Minister Henry Madzorera launched the program in Harare, administering vaccines to a number of children and doses of vitamin A supplements," the news service writes, noting, "Statistics show that at least 100 children die of largely preventable diseases in the country every day, and officials say the week-long vaccination program is meant to roll back the worrying mortality rate."

"The government is carrying out the immunization outreach with the help of the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, which normally handles funds donated by different agencies and countries to help revitalize Zimbabwe's health sector," VOA adds (Nkomo, 6/18). In a separate article, VOA notes that the campaign is being funded by Japan, and that "the money went to ... UNICEF, instead of Zimbabwe's government because of fears of corruption" (Mhofu, 6/18).