President Emmerson Mnangagwa has urged churches to ensure that all their members get their children vaccinated against diseases such as measles and polio.
He made the call while addressing ZANU PF supporters at Beaulieu Primary School in Mutasa South last week on Saturday. The President said:
<blockquote>
There are so many churches in the country and we work very well with them, especially the indigenous ones which preach the gospel of unity and love.
There is no church that we say is bigger than the other, even those with foreign origins.
While we work well with the indigenous churches, we tend to disagree with them over the issue of seeking medical attention for their children.
Tinozongopesana kana vati havajungwi, tinoti kwavari ah-ah, jungwai. We want lives to be saved regardless of our religious beliefs.
</blockquote>
A measles outbreak hit Mutasa District early this year and the virus has spread across the country.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care has since rolled out a nationwide measles vaccination programme targeting 95 percent of all children between the ages of six months and five years. | <a href="https://www.manicapost.co.zw/no-excuses-on-vaccination-president/">The Manica Post</a>

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Mnangagwa Urges Indigenous Church Members To Get Their Children Immunised

Seven children from an Honde Valley family recently succumbed to measles within a space of two weeks.
The seven children were aged between three and 11.
The Rode family’s remaining eight children were only spared after their parents took the bold decision to quit their white garment church and seek medical services for them, according to <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/7-children-from-one-family-die-of-measles/">The Herald.</a>
Religious beliefs that discourage seeking medical services have been identified as the major cause of the current measles outbreak and the resulting deaths.
Mr Tendai Rode of Nyamaende in Honde Valley told Zimpapers’ Television Network (ZTN) that it was painful to bury his children one after the other within such a short space of time. He said in an interview:
<blockquote>
I am married to three wives and I was blessed with 15 children. All my children got infected with measles. This happened within a week and on day eight, some of the children who had developed a skin rash started coughing.
The following day, the first child, aged three, died in the morning. The other one, aged four, died in the afternoon. We buried them the following morning.
The other child, aged five, succumbed to the same disease two days later. Barely a day later, the other girl who was doing Grade Two also died.
The other child died the next day. We were all traumatised because five children had succumbed to the disease within a week.
Watching my children dying one after the other made me think twice about my religious beliefs. I saw it prudent to quit my church and seek medical attention for my children at the local health institution.
However, my 11-year-old boy who was being attended to at the clinic failed to make it. He died that very evening. The other one died three days later.
So five of my children died before we could seek medical attention for them, while the other two died after our visit to the clinic. All the children were not vaccinated as this was against our religious beliefs.
However, the measles tests done on my children were not conclusive. The skin rash had disappeared, but their coughing persisted. This disease cost me dearly and I have nowhere to start. All our resources were drained during the seven funerals.
</blockquote>
Statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care say as of last week, Manicaland had recorded 3 010 cases and 347 deaths, mostly in Mutasa District. Of those cases, 507 were vaccinated, while 1 982 were unvaccinated. The status of 527 people was unknown.
In response to the measles outbreak, the Government has deployed mobile teams to vaccinate children between the ages of six months and 15 years.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that spreads from person to person via airborne transmission, including breathing, coughing and sneezing.
Among other symptoms, infected persons develop a skin rash, high fever, cough, runny nose, irritated red and watery eyes.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

Family Loses 7 Children To Measles In Two Weeks

Mothers who are members of Apostolic sects, who are referred to as madzimai, have resorted to sneaking to clinics behind their husbands’ backs to vaccinate their babies against measles.
Some Apostolic sects consider vaccination taboo and forbid members from getting medical care insisting that all their health problems are solved through prayers.
Adherents put their faith in prayer, holy water and other measures to ward off disease or cure illnesses.
Zimbabwe has been grappling with a deadly measles outbreak since April 2022 which has killed more than 700 children across the country.
Many were unvaccinated because of religious reasons, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said.
At Mbare Polyclinic in Harare, some women were taken to the back room to get their children vaccinated in secret, and in defiance of religious doctrine that forbids them from using modern medicines.
Lewis Foya, a nurse at the clinic told The Associated Press that the advent of the measles outbreak saw children dying so they are now coming secretly to get help. He added:
<blockquote>
They have a belief that if they get vaccinated, they become unholy so that’s the doctrine that they pass down to the women.
</blockquote>
Foya said the patriarchy in the church means women have “no power to openly say no” to instructions.
As a result, to save their children, some mothers visit clinics in secret, sometimes under the cover of the night and without their husbands knowing.
At the Mbare clinic, one mother who identified herself as Winnet Musiyarira said people had learned from the vaccine hesitancy prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said:
<blockquote>
A lot of people were misinformed during that COVID-19 period because they were told that when you get vaccinated there will be after-effects.
So due to that a lot of people lost their lives and it was important for everybody to take that seriously.
So when I heard about measles I just said I have to take my kids to the hospital and get them vaccinated.
</blockquote>
Musiyarira said she wasn´t a member of a religious group but some were women wearing matching white headscarves to indicate they are part of an Apostolic church and were at the Mbare clinic to get their children vaccinated secretly.
The women, however, declined to speak to The Associated Press for fear of reprisal from church leaders. | <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-11238093/Secret-vaccinations-help-Zimbabwe-mothers-protect-children.html">MailOnline</a>

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