Since yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MISAU) has had 70 vehicles and 696 motorcycles available to extend the coverage of vaccination campaigns to the most distant points, in an investment of 5 million dollars from the government and partners such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Of the total resources, 267 will be immediately allocated to the northern provinces, given the challenges facing this part of the country.

When handing over the vehicles and motorcycles, the Minister of Health, Armindo Tiago, said that despite the attention paid to vaccination, the various health emergencies, including Covid-19, have contributed to the accumulation of a high number of zero-dose or under-immunized children.

In view of the problem, the plan to recover these children is underway, with 860,000 having been reached in the first vaccination round, of which 251,000 are zero-dose. Meanwhile, two more rounds are planned for April and May.

"Receiving the 696 motorcycles will increase the coverage of the mobile brigades to provide vaccinations and other community health interventions in the most remote areas, where it is often difficult for a vehicle to reach," said Armindo Tiago, quoted by the newspaper News.

For his part, UNICEF's deputy representative in Mozambique, Yannick Brand, said that the circulating media will make it possible to carry out routine vaccinations for more than a million children in these nine provinces of the country.

The source added that the vehicles arrive at the right time, pointing out that the country is in the group of 10 countries worldwide with the highest absolute number of zero-dose children, who are children who have never received any routine vaccine, due to the scarcity of access.

"This situation can only be reversed through coordinated strategies, such as the investment we are seeing today, and the creation of local capacity to provide quality health services to the beneficiary," said Brand.