Harare , Zimbabwe ( CNN ) -- Twenty-two people , mainly children below the age of 5 , have died of measles in Zimbabwe , the country 's state media reported . The World Health Organization ( WHO ) said two weeks ago it was `` deeply frustrated '' by the measles outbreak , which came after it sponsored a vaccination program in the African nation . WHO 's head in Zimbabwe , Dr. Custodia Mandlhate , told journalists in Harare the outbreak has totaled more than 340 suspected cases this year , and `` this is not acceptable . '' She said the outbreak came about `` mainly because of people who have denied their children vaccination . '' The Herald on Tuesday reported the 22 victims had not been vaccinated , quoting health officials in the troubled country . Ninety cases have been confirmed nationwide , Zimbabwe 's Health and Child Welfare Minister Henry Madzorera told the newspaper . `` This is an unwarranted loss of lives given the fact that measles is a preventable disease , '' he said , according to the state-owned Herald . `` In Zimbabwe , outbreaks of measles were rare because of sustained high vaccination coverage among all children . It is therefore important for parents to realize that vaccinating their children protects the individual children '' from the disease and its complications , '' he said . The outbreak has hit five districts in Zimbabwe , Madzorera said . It is likely to further strain Zimbabwe 's health system , which last year linked nearly 5,000 deaths to a cholera epidemic . In the past three months , five people have died from cholera , but the WHO said the situation will not be as bad as last year .
Twenty-two people , mainly children aged below 5 , die of measles in Zimbabwe . World Health Organization `` deeply frustrated '' by outbreak , which came despite vaccination program . Zimbabwe 's health system under strain : last year 5,000 died in cholera epidemic .