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No National ID, No Vaccination

Lack of IDs has seen some residents fail to access COVID-19 jabs at council clinics. Graphics by The Citizen Bulletin


BY LIZWE SEBATHA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | OCT 18, 2021

Alternative methods of identification to ensure vaccination are being rejected by health officials.


BULAWAYO (The Citizen Bulletin) — In Bulawayo and parts of Matabeleland, getting vaccinated is proving tricky for individuals without national identity documents.

Identity documents (IDs) and cards can be sources of exclusion in different ways. Individuals living without personal identification are unable to access most, if not all, of the health, social and economic supports available during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Bulawayo, lack of IDs has seen some residents fail to access COVID-19 jabs at council clinics as vaccination teams are demanding the much-needed identity document.

According to the latest council health, housing and education committee report, the Health and Child Care ministry issued a directive that residents without IDs must have a confirmation letter from their community leaders to be vaccinated.

However, these confirmation letters are being rejected.

“Councillor Silas Chigora noted that the Ministry of Health and Child Care had issued a directive with regards to residents who had no identity documents. The directive was instructing Community leaders to write letters that were submitted to the vaccination centre by the residents without documents. He noted that most council clinics and other vaccination centres turned away such residents with such a letter,” the minutes read in part.


Everyone has the right to be recognised as a person before the law, as enshrined in Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and Article 16 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.


Several international human rights instruments, such as Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 24 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, also recognise a right to birth registration.

To address this, the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, agreed by all member states in September 2015, established a specific target within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Target 16.9 – legal identity for all.

However, it is a right not enjoyed by many in the country as the Registrar General’s office is struggling to issue identity documents citing a lack of consumables.

In June, the government announced that it had chosen an unnamed private company to print identity and travel documents under a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement in a desperate bid to ease the backlog.

The Registry department battles an ID and passport backlog of over 200 000 dating back more than two years owing to a lack of foreign currency to import much-needed materials for printing the documents.

“Government recently approved the engagement of a private company on a BOT arrangement which is going to not only issue passports but also look at the issue of issuing birth certificates and IDs. Indeed, they are going to deploy an integrated solution… So, in our view, this is the solution to all our problems,” Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe told Parliament earlier this year.

However, several months on, accessing an ID is a challenge, further slowing the COVID-19 vaccination drive in Bulawayo as the identity document is required at vaccination centres.

Community leaders can now write confirmation letters for undocumented citizens to get vaccinated. Image by Reuters


“Several residents were being sent away despite having those confirmation letters I had signed. There is poor communication, and this must be addressed in the spirit of ensuring access to health services for all as enshrined in the constitution,” Chigora says.

In separate interviews, several youths confirmed failing to get vaccinated because of not having identity documents.

“Since then, I have not gone back to the clinic to try and get vaccinated,” says Donald Mudzingwa from Nketa suburb.

As of October 10, a total of 2 409 204 citizens have received their first and second COVID-19 doses, respectively, according to the Health and Child Care ministry. About 3 171 698 had only received their first dose as of the same date.


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Deputy mayor Mlandu Ncube blamed poor communication from the ministry for the confusion in clinics regarding the requirement for IDs at vaccination centres.

“Communication from the ministry on the need for those without ID's to produce signed affidavits or letters from community leaders was not clear hence the confusion we were witnessing,” Mlandu says.

“It becomes a challenge to our nurses just to vaccinate anyone without any ID because those vaccines must be accounted for.”  

“However, I am glad to report that we have since ironed this out with the ministry so that people get vaccinated. Community leaders can still write confirmation letters, and these are accepted by our health staff.”


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