Africa-Press – Botswana. The Botswana Red Cross Society is actively working to increase the uptake of life-saving vaccines in the Tsabong District through its Saving Lives and Livelihoods Project. Supported by the Mastercard Foundation and Africa CDC, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, the project aims to prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases within communities.
In an interview with BOPA, Health and Care Coordinator for the Botswana Red Cross Society, Ms Kamogelo Moilwa highlighted the project’s focus on increasing vaccine coverage for key populations, including children under five, pregnant and breastfeeding women, healthcare workers and individuals with comorbidities.
“Our goal is to proactively prevent surges in diseases that can be effectively controlled through immunisation,” stated Ms Moilwa.
She explained that the society played a crucial role in the project by engaging in risk communication and community engagement through community-based approaches. The national society would work to promote vaccine uptake among priority populations, address existing barriers to vaccination, and encourage positive health-seeking behaviours.
To achieve this, she said community health workers within Tsabong District would be actively involved in targeted activities to mobilise their communities for increased vaccine uptake. To ensure the effectiveness of this community-based approach, a multi-sectoral team of facilitators, including representatives from the Botswana Red Cross Society, the Ministry of Health, and the Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority, recently conducted a comprehensive training for community health workers.
The training covered essential topics such as community mapping, data management, the life course vaccines schedule, childhood vaccination schedule, Risk Communication and Community Engagement strategies, as well as the safety of vaccines and how to manage adverse events following immunisation.
Ms Moilwa said the project successfully trained 20 community health workers who would be deployed to the communities of Werda, Kokotsha, Tsabong, and Hereford in Kgalagadi South starting this month to August. Their primary mission would be to actively promote and increase vaccine uptake within these communities, said Ms Moilwa. Ms Moilwa urged community leaders in the Tsabong District to support the initiative.
“By working together, we can protect the health and well-being of our communities and ensure a healthier future for all,” she emphasised.
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