Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Health Reporter
THE Ministry of Health and Child Care is conducting a nationwide follow-up campaign to address the persistently low measles-rubella vaccine coverage since 2019, with Manicaland joining the drive to protect children and prevent future outbreaks.
The campaign, which began on Monday, targets all children aged between nine and 59 months across the province and the rest of the country.
Health authorities say the goal is to close immunity gaps and achieve the 95 percent coverage needed to stop disease transmission.
Manicaland provincial health promotions officer, Mrs Agnes Mugumbate said the ongoing exercise is critical in preventing another measles outbreak similar to the one that hit some communities in 2022.
“The campaign will run until Friday, and caregivers were informed in advance so they could take their children to the nearest health facilities. Our teams are also going out to schools, crèches, bus stations and hard-to-reach communities across Manicaland to make sure every eligible child gets vaccinated. This is an extra dose — meaning even if a child received the previous measles-rubella shot, they still need this booster for additional protection,” said Mrs Mugumbate, adding that vaccinators were also administering vitamin A supplements to strengthen children’s immunity.
“When there is a measles outbreak or when a child contracts measles, the risk of malnutrition and blindness becomes high, especially where there is Vitamin A deficiency. That is why Vitamin A supplementation is being given during this campaign,” she said, urging caregivers to look out for symptoms such as fever, running nose, red eyes and rashes.
“If a caregiver notices these symptoms, they should immediately take the child to the nearest health facility for proper management,” she said.
As Manicaland joins the rest of the nation in the intensified follow-up campaign, parents and guardians should have all eligible children vaccinated.
Manicaland provincial expanded programme on immunisation (EPI) officer, Mr Pfungwa Muzhizhizhi said the follow-up campaign was guided by scientific evidence and vaccination data.
“The rationale for the follow-up campaign is that we have not been reaching the 95 percent immunisation coverage target as a province and as a country. Even within that 95 percent, about 15 percent of children may not seroconvert, meaning that their bodies do not develop the required immunity despite receiving the vaccine. This leaves a proportion of the population still susceptible to measles,” said Mr Muzhizhizhi.
He said another concern was the rising number of children who were either under-immunised or had completely missed their vaccination schedules.
“We have what we call zero-dose children, those who have never been vaccinated and under-immunised ones, who might have received their first measles dose at nine months but missed the second dose at 18 months.
These groups accumulate over the years, creating a pool of susceptible children that can trigger an outbreak. The current campaign is designed to stop that from happening,” he said.
In a letter recently circulated to all Provincial Medical Directors, Permanent Secretary for Health and Child Care, Dr Aspect Maunganidze, warned of the growing number of children vulnerable to measles nationwide, stressing that urgent intervention was required to prevent another epidemic.
He said persistent shortfalls in measles-rubella vaccination coverage between 2019 and 2022, with both the first and second doses (MR1 and MR2) remaining below the 95 percent target, had prompted the Ministry to launch the national follow-up campaign.
“Previous campaigns in 2019 and 2022 fell short of the target, leading to an accumulation of unprotected children. Furthermore, in 2023 and 2024, Zimbabwe reported sporadic measles IgM-positive cases.
‘‘Against this backdrop, the country is conducting a Measles-Rubella Follow-Up Campaign, integrated with routine immunisation and Vitamin A supplementation,” said Dr Maunganidze.
He emphasised that the main objective was to bridge immunity gaps and ensure that all children, especially those under five, are protected.
“Failing to achieve the 95 percent threshold compromises herd immunity, allowing measles to spread rapidly and cause deaths among unvaccinated children,” he said.
A 2023 zero-dose assessment revealed that 393 289 children across Zimbabwe, including thousands in Manicaland, had not received a single measles-rubella dose. Nineteen of the country’s 63 districts were identified as high-risk areas with large numbers of unvaccinated children.
Dr Maunganidze said national health teams were deployed across provinces, including Manicaland, to monitor and support the campaign through readiness assessments, data verification and real-time supervision.
“The Ministry’s integrated approach also ensures that other routine vaccines missed due to disruptions, such as during the Covid-19 pandemic, are caught up,” he added.
Measles remains one of the most contagious diseases known, capable of infecting up to 90 percent of unvaccinated people exposed to an infected individual. Despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine, the disease continues to cause preventable deaths worldwide, particularly in regions where immunisation rates remain low.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has consistently ranked measles among the top global public health threats, urging member states to sustain high vaccination coverage to prevent outbreaks and deaths.
