More Than 700 Children Have Died in a Measles Outbreak in Zimbabwe

The risk of faltering childhood immunization campaigns around the globe has been highlighted by the deaths of more than 700 children in Zimbabwe.

The country's Ministry of Health and Child Care reported more than 6,700 cases and 700 deaths. Since that time, it has not released any numbers.

The cause of the outbreak is a combination of factors.

There was a drop in routine immunization in Zimbabwe. Anxious parents stayed away from health centers, health care workers were moved from routine vaccine programs to the Covid-19 response, and schools were closed for long periods of time.

Millions of children in the world's poor countries missed some or all of their childhood vaccinations because of Covid lockdowns and armed conflicts. The U.N. agencies warned that the situation was the largest backslide in routine immunizations in 30 years and that it could endanger millions of children.

The public health system in Zimbabwe has been ravaged by a decades-long political and economic crisis.

Zimbabwe's health system is in dire need of staff. Health care workers are moving to high-income countries such as South Africa or high-income countries such as France for jobs where they will make more money than they do in Zimbabwe, where they make less.

Twenty-five years ago, Zimbabwe had one of the highest rates of vaccination coverage in sub-Saharan Africa, but vaccine hesitancy has swelled, amplified by influential churches that discourage immunization. The largest church in the world is at the center of the outbreak.

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Women who take their children to clinics have been threatened by some evangelical pastors who say their prayers and sacred stones are sufficient to protect the faithful. Some evangelical leaders warned that the mark of the beast would come from the Covid-19 shots. Hesitancy has spilled over into resistance to shots.

The federal health ministry made clergy a focus of the renewed efforts to get young children vaccinations, according to a spokesman.

Donald Mujiri, the spokesman, said that the government has embarked on a mass vaccination campaign reaching out to faith leaders. Children between 6 months and 15 years old are the most affected by the vaccine issue. No child should die of the disease.

The first case of the disease was reported in the village of Makabvepi. The deaths of the first children to die were not reported because they were buried quickly. The children who died were from families that were members of the Johane Marange Apostolic Church, which held a large Easter service and a Passover celebration.

The group doesn't like vaccinations. It is aligned with the president who attended the Passover gathering.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care recognized by late 2020 that Covid had derailed vaccination campaigns, but a catch-up campaign targeting children from infancy to age 5 began only last month. Major international health agencies are supporting that campaign, but would not speak to The New York Times on the record because of the subject's political sensitivity.

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Zimbabwe's information minister said that most evangelical families want their children to have vaccinations.

She said that the worshipers of the Apostolic Church in Manicaland came out to get the vaccine. It was slow at first. Some religious groups are resisting. There is a lot of work going on with these groups.

Children in Zimbabwe are more susceptible to acute illness from the disease. The last four years have seen a drop in per capita income and a rise in food prices due to a number of factors.

At least 500 children died as a result of thousands of cases. Since then, the cash-starved health system has struggled to increase vaccine coverage.

There was a 10-day campaign last year in which three million children were given vitamins to reduce the severity of diseases but they were not protected against diseases.

The 20-month-old daughter of Viola Mombeyarara passed away in September. The three older children recovered after being hit by measles, but the baby died of dehydration due to the effects of the illness.

Anenyasha was diagnosed with the disease at a clinic in the north of the country, but her mother believes there were other causes of her death.

She was getting better when I brought her home. She died when the others overcame the disease. This is the work of bad people.

She said she wasn't sure if she would want her other children to get the vaccine.

She said that the herbs were used to cure the other children. We can't get vaccinations.

Moyo was in Zimbabwe.