Zambia News

The World Polio Day was commemorated in Zambia on 23 October 2020 under the theme “Stories of progress past and present”. Following the  Certification of the WHO African Region as free of wild poliovirus on 25 August, the occasion served as an opportunity to celebrate this historical and monumental milestone.

To mark the commemoration of the World Hepatitis Day 2020, the World Health Organization has called for a global and united effort to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. More than 1.3 million people die annually as a result of Hepatitis B and C. Zambia has therefore joined the global community to commemorate World Hepatitis Day under the theme “Hepatitis free future”. The theme highlights the importance of preventing mother-to-child transmission of Hepatitis B and scaling-up prevention, testing and treatment to control hepatitis B and cure hepatitis C.

The WHO Country Office in Zambia has continued working jointly with other United Nations Agencies and other partners to strengthen on-going interventions to respond and prevent further spread of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in the country. These efforts include coordination, surveillance, infection prevention and control, laboratory, case management, risk communication, logistics and human resource capacity. On 3 July 2020 the WHO Representative, Dr.

Zambia like many other countries has faced challenges of safely maintaining access to high-quality, essential health services due to pressure exerted on the health delivery system by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fear, stigma, misinformation and limitations on movements can negatively affect the demand for care among the public and this could lead to direct mortality from the outbreak and indirect mortality from preventable and treatable conditions.

Since Zambia reported its first case of COVID 19 on 18 March 2020, cases have been on the upswing.  During recent weeks confirmed cases rose from 103 on 1 May 2020 to 920 by May 22 with a total number of seven deaths. Zambia has also seen an increase of cases of COVID-19 in the northern  town of  Nakonde due to a porous border. More than 80 health workers have been affected by the virus countrywide.

The attainment of Zambia’s goal of being a prosperous and middle-income country by 2030 as stipulated in its Vision 2030 is dependent on among others, a healthy and productive population. Health has therefore been prioritized as a key economic investment in the Seventh National Development Plan 2017-2021.

Zambia has launched a polio immunisation campaign after confirming a case involving a 2 years 8-month old male child in Chienge district in the northern part of the country. The affected child has paralysis of the lower limbs and had no history of receiving polio vaccinations.

The WHO Regional Office for Africa in collaboration with WHO Headquarters, UNICEF, UNFPA and other partners has organized an inter-country regional workshop aimed at training national adolescent health focal points and partners on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Services Barriers Assessment Methodology (AHSBA).