By Moses Charedzera
YAFM in association with Great Dyke TV will host two webinars, one on vaccination slated for the 2nd of July 2021 and another on livestock on the 30th of June 2021.
The vaccination webinar themed ‘Zvishavane-Towards herd immunity’ is headlined by Midlands Minister of State for Provincial affairs and Devolution Senator Larry Mavima and will discuss the current vaccination drive where Zvishavane is leading in the vaccination campaign in the province.
Other panelists include Dr Conford Gweme of Nectacare, DrMubatsiri Shoko , Head of the Zvishavane Covid-19 taskforce, Mr Prosper Nyabani, Public Health Manager for Apostolic Women Empowerment Trust, Sophie Takuva, a small scale miner and Gogo Beau, a YAFM radio personality. Minex chairman Munyaradzi Hwengwere will moderate the discussion.
YAFM General Manager Tawanda Gudhlangah said they are hosting the webinar to drive up the vaccination campaign in view of the rising cases of covid-19 this winter.
“We are encouraged by the fact that Zvishavane is leading the vaccination drive in the Midlands and we want to accelerate the momentum towards vaccination in view of the rising cases.
Vaccination is clearly paying in Europe and America where the fatality rates have drastically come down. If stakeholders push hard there is no reason why Zvishavane and surrounding areas can not attain herd immunity ahead of the targeted time frame of year end.
“So using our abilities as a multimedia platform we are priming up and galvanizing support for the covid-19 mass vaccination campaign,” he said.
According to vaccination figures for the Midlands provided to Great Dyke News24 this Tuesday, Zvishavane has achieved24976 for both first and second doses, beating Gweru with a larger population into second position at 23 292 doses.
Mberengwa is number three with a total of 13891 doses, with Kwekwe in position four with 13585 jabs, while Chirumhanzu is fifth with 11917 doses. Shurugwi is on sixth position with 9261 doses, with Gokwe South on seventh position at 7869 doses while Gokwe North has the least number of jabs at 7120.
On the livestock webinar Gudhlangah said that this is particularly welcome as most people in the Midlands, located in the drier parts of the country are into livestock farming for sustenance.
“Government is seeking to grow the national head and uplift the livelihoods of millions of livestock farmers. In an African context, cattle is the king of beasts and a man’s worth is measured by how much cattle he owns. We bring is experts who can assist farmers to deal with the various challenges they are facing with their cattle and other livestock.
“We also have representation from government where the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement has been invited,” said Gudhlangah.
The livestock webinar which will be held in partnership with the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society comes at a time when the Midlands province has been hit by an outbreak of lumpy skin disease.
Mining companies in the province are also actively involved in growing the national herd through the artificial insemination programme.
