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Zimbabweans have generally responded well to immunisation campaigns though pockets of resistance remain here and there around the country. The dissemination of information in recent years has also needed to be modified in view of the many sources of information and the growth of satellite television and we are happy that the latest round of immunisation saw even cellular phones being used to send messages to encourage parents to take their children for immunisation.
It is our hope that all the children that were targeted were reached and that those that missed out on the campaign will approach their nearest clinics for the regular immunisation so that we safeguard the health of our children and take a giant stride towards our Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number four, reducing child mortality by 2015.
The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare’s head of Epidemiology and Disease Control, Dr Portia Manangazira, said there had been an overwhelming response to the programme when it started on Monday. We would like to applaud mothers for taking their children for immunisation and also urge everyone with a neighbour resisting such a programme to encourage them to protect their children against diseases or report to the nearest health authorities since it is the children’s right to be protected against diseases.
Though Dr Manangazira said there had been no reports of open resistance by parents to the immunisation programme, we are aware that some religious sects still forbid their members from having their children vaccinated against child killer diseases out of ignorance. It could be such cases of resistance that have seen the country recording up to 100 deaths of children a day from preventable diseases. We urge Zimbabweans to care for their children and their neighbours’ children by ensuring that everybody is covered in such vaccination programmes since those not vaccinated may become the source of infection in future and derail the country’s efforts to totally eliminate the diseases.
We believe the Government also needs a tracking mechanism to ensure that children born in this country are vaccinated and monitored and parents who fail in their duty to ensure that children are protected against diseases should face the full wrath of the law. Children’s rights to health are human rights and that should be seen in practice through the seriousness with which children’s health issues are treated.
Online Reporter