Outreach drive targets declining childhood vaccination rates in KZN

KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane said the decline in immunisation coverage threatens to cause South Africa to fall short of the World Health Organisation’s recommended 90% vaccination coverage

With childhood and infant immunisation rates declining across the country, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health is intensifying efforts to encourage parents and caregivers to ensure that children receive their routine vaccinations on Tuesday.

The Isibhedlela Kubantu outreach programme will get underway in eDumbe Local Municipality in the Zululand District on Tuesday. Through its flagship programme, the department intends to intensify its campaign to bring parents and caregivers back into the routine immunisation programme.

The KZN MEC for Health Nomagugu Simelane said the decline in immunisation coverage threatens to cause South Africa to fall short of the World Health Organisation’s recommended 90% vaccination coverage threshold needed to provide strong population-level protection against vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Isibhedlela Kubantu is a pioneering initiative aimed at addressing socio-economic inequalities and persistent barriers to accessing healthcare, including poverty, transport challenges and affordability. By bringing healthcare services closer to communities, the programme helps reduce the burden on healthcare facilities, ease overcrowding and enable health workers to provide services more efficiently,” Simelane said.

The initiative is also central to the department’s drive to take essential healthcare services directly to communities, particularly those in underserved and hard-to-reach areas. Simelane said vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination rhetoric grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, compounding pre-existing downward trends in immunisation.

“Many young parents grew up at a time when dangerous childhood diseases had become relatively rare, which may have reduced their awareness of the risks these diseases still pose to children,” Simelane said.

She added that a combination of factors, including misinformation, transport challenges and changing household priorities, was driving the decline in immunisation coverage. According to the department, first-dose routine immunisation coverage for infants declined from 87% in 2021 to 67% in 2025, while coverage for the hexavalent (6-in-1) vaccine dropped from 87% to 60.5% over the same period.

Simelane emphasised that routine childhood vaccinations remain free of charge at all public healthcare clinics and are available from birth. She said the department is deploying outreach teams to early childhood development centres and underserved communities to identify children who have missed vaccinations and ensure they receive the necessary doses.

“A dedicated multidisciplinary team comprising doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals will also be deployed through mobile clinics and fully equipped outreach vehicles,” she said.

The teams are expected to provide a range of essential healthcare services while assisting parents and caregivers to bring their children up to date with their routine immunisations.