Measles outbreak kills 157 children in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean government is rolling out mass vaccination campaign as health emergency worsens

A child receives a measles vaccine in Zimbabwe (WHO Zimbabwe)

More than 150 children have died from measles in Zimbabwe, with the death toll almost doubling in less than a week.

The government has blamed the rapid spread of the disease on apostolic church sects which do not believe in vaccinations.

Of the 2,056 suspected measles cases detected across the country so far, most patients are unvaccinated children between six months and 15 years of age.

The government has invoked an emergency decree to deal with the health crisis, information minister Monica Mutsvangwa said on Tuesday.

A mass vaccination campaign will soon be rolled out by the government, which hopes to persuade faith leaders of the urgent need for people to be immunised.

The measles outbreak was first detected in April in the eastern Manicaland province, before spreading across the whole country.

Zimbabwe’s health ministry said last week that church gatherings, which are now permitted following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions, have resulted in measles cases in “previously unaffected areas”.

Some of the country’s Christian sects tell their congregations not to use modern medicine, but to instead seek help from self-proclaimed prophets.

Measles, a virus that is most commonly transmitted via airborne droplets, is one of the world’s most contagious diseases.

In July, Unicef said roughly 25 million children around the world now have greater health risks because of a fall in immunisations for common childhood illnesses during the pandemic.

Additional reporting by agencies