The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa
Health Reporter
Government, in partnership with the City of Mutare, is providing nutritional services to families with malnourished children.
This comes after the city recorded at least 2 900 children under the age of five who were underweight and had stunted growth in 2022.
This was revealed by the local authority’s acting health services director, Mrs Eunice Muyambuki, during a service delivery feedback meeting held at Mutare Hall recently.
Mrs Muyambuki said a total of 36 819 children under the age of five were weighed at the council clinics in 2022.
Of these, 1 700 were underweight while 1 200 had stunted growth as a result of poor nutrition.
“With help from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, we are offering these children nutritional services because we found that their stunted growth and weight is as a result of not having enough food or a balanced diet.
“However, it is important to note that in 2022, we recorded a 42 percent increase of children under five who came for weighing at our clinics, which is an improvement from the 2021 figures,” she said.
Mrs Muyambuki also noted that there was an eight percent increase in the children who received immunization services at city clinics in 2022.
She said the immunization statistics increased to 33,4 percent from 25 percent in 2021; adding that it is pleasing to note that parents and guardians are taking their children to seek health services.
“The other children got immunized at other health institutions like St Joseph’s Hospital which report to the Health Ministry and not to council, which could mean that a higher number of children were immunized in 2022,” she said.
This comes as the world commemorates World Immunization Week this week.
In Zimbabwe, every child should be immunized against Poliomyelitis, Diphtheria, Measles Rubella, Tuberculosis, Tetanus and Whooping Cough.
Speaking during a Cross border cafe on paediatric immunisation which was held virtually on Monday, Médecins Sans Frontières Vaccination and Outreach Response advisor, Ms Miriam Alia Prieto said many countries across the world continue to face crisis upon crisis due to Covid-19, including the unprecedented backsliding in immunization that came with it.
“According to a report released by UNICEF, 25 million children went un-vaccinated or under vaccinated worldwide in 2021. A total of 18.2 million received zero dose and these are six million more than in 2019; while 19.1 million also received zero dose in 2021.
“UNICEF estimates that 67 million children missed out entirely or partially on routine immunisation between 2019 and 2021. About 48 million of them are estimated to have missed out on immunization entirely.
“Disruptions caused by the pandemic interrupted childhood vaccination almost everywhere, setting back vaccination rates to levels not seen since 2008. Covid-19 pandemic not only disrupted the provision of other health services, it also caused an unprecedented backslide in immunisation across the country,” said Mrs Prieto.
She said Covid-19 posed greater challenges against the protection of life and the immunisation of children, thereby exacerbating the spread of diseases like measles in the region.
