Gauteng parents urged to prioritise child vaccinations amid decline [SOUND]

# The Gauteng Health Department is urging parents to prioritise childhood immunisation as coverage declines. This comes amid African Vaccination Week, aimed at strengthening immunisation programmes. The department’s Tshifhiwa Mashamba says only 75.3-percent of children under one were vaccinated in the 2025/26 financial year, down from 83-percent previously. Mashamba warns this increases the risk of disease outbreaks. He urges guardians to follow the national immunisation schedule and seek catch-up vaccinations: