Africa-Press – Tanzania. TANZANIA’s Chief Sheikh, Mufti Abubakar Zubeir has asked religious leaders to use their platforms to educate and encourage Tanzanians to take Covid-19 jabs, arguing that by doing so, they would be protecting the nation against the pandemic.
Mufti Zubeir stated that the clerics have the responsibility to ensure that people’s health is protected and improved.
“We should continue insisting and educating our people to keep protecting themselves against Covid-19 pandemic,” he stated in Dar es Salaam, on Wednesday.
He was speaking at a seminar for Dar es Salaam’s Sheikhs over the importance of Covid-19 vaccination exercise.
The seminar was part of the ‘Afya Kwanza Project’ implemented by the Management and Development for Health (MDH) organisation in collaboration with the government.
The project is funded by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Sheikh Zubeir commended the CDC in collaboration with the office of Dar es Salaam Regional Medical Officer (RMO) for organising the workshop which stressed the role of sheiks in motivating people at grassroots to get vaccinated.
“If you are vaccinated against the pandemic, you are putting yourself on the safe side because we still live with the disease. You (Sheikhs) should motivate people to take jabs,” he insisted, adding: “protecting people’s health is to protect national interest.”
He reiterated that the vaccines are safe, considering the proof that those who have been vaccinated have not been affected as initially perceived.
Earlier, Dar es Salaam’s RMO, Dr Rashid Mfaume, said since the outbreak of the Covid-19 was reported in the country, religious leaders have been at a front line in the fight against the disease, including encouraging people to be vaccinated.
“Ever since people started to take vaccination, I have not heard of any case of serious side effects from those vaccinated. This gives us every reason to move ahead,” Dr Mfaume stated.
He revealed that the region was targeting to vaccinate 40,000 people per day by next December, up from current statistics of vaccinating 17,000 people per day.
“With current strategies and efforts in collaboration with stakeholders, we want to vaccinate 3,072,600 people by December this year, up from the current number of 1, 043, 516,” he said.
Earlier, Executive Director of the MDH, Dr David Sanjo, said the MDH is among major private institutions supporting the government’s efforts to improve health in the country.
The organisation trains and employs health service providers, among other initiatives.
He said with funding from the CDC, they implement various programmes to ensure that Covid-19 is readily available in the public.
For More News And Analysis About Tanzania Follow Africa-Press
