Dr. Muka Chikuba-McLeod Talks to Voice of America about Getting Zambia to Herd Immunity

October 2022 was a notable moment as Zambia surpassed its target of fully vaccinating at least 70% of the eligible population against COVID-19.

“Our community health workers and vaccine providers seamlessly delivered clear vaccine information and access, often right to families’ doorsteps, eliminating both the barriers of misinformation and overwhelming cost of travel,” Dr. Muka Chikuba-McLeod, JSI’s country representative in Zambia and USAID DISCOVER-Health’s chief of party, recently explained to VOA’s Jackson M’vunganyi.

During the interview, Dr. Chikuba-McLeod detailed the community-based approaches that USAID DISCOVER-Health used to get COVID-19 shots in arms while working closely with local and country leaders. “One of the biggest barriers was access. We increased access to vaccines by taking COVID-19 vaccinations to where people are through outreach.”