Maputo — Mozambique's Deputy Health Minister, Ilesh Jani, on Thursday guaranteed that the vaccine against cholera, currently being administered in parts of central Mozambique, is effective and safe.

Speaking in Quelimane, capital of Zambezia province, at the official ceremony marking the start of the mass vaccination campaign against cholera, Jani explained that the vaccine has been administered successfully in other parts of the country, resulting in a reduction in the number of cases.

"This is a vaccine that we used after Cyclone Idai in Sofala province in 2019', Jani recalled, "and at that time, when we used this vaccine, we ended the cholera epidemic in Sofala.'

"We also used it after Cyclone Kenneth in Cabo Delgado', he added. "There too, after we used the vaccine, the cholera ended'.

"This time we used it in Niassa province, which was facing great problems with cholera. But with the use of the vaccine, the epidemic in Niassa in disappearing', Jani continued. "So it's important to vaccinate the largest possible number of people. We want everybody in Quelimane to be vaccinated, to take this vaccine against cholera'.

For his part, the representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nurbai Calu, told the ceremony that, although the vaccine against cholera is effective, it is important to maintain hygiene measures.

"The vaccine in itself will not work miracles', he said. "It is one of the components of cholera prevention. We must follow the other measures that we are hearing about in the messages being publicized here'.

Calu explained that the vaccine is taken in two doses. "Today we are starting with the first dose', he said. "In a short while the government will tell us when to take the second dose'.