During the formative years of any individual, one of those things that counts the most is vaccination. With proper vaccination, your immune system will be strengthened to fight an infection in case a bacteria or a virus invades your body in the near future.
When it comes to vaccines for kids, hundreds of Kenyan children are at risk of missing the much-needed immunization due to an acute shortage of these life-saving doses for the last 2 months.
This has been caused by a delay in the clearance of unpaid debts owed to global suppliers by the government and a reduction in the amount of money meant for the procurement and distribution of vaccines from the annual budget of Ksh 2.6 billion to Ksh. 1.2 billion.
Unfortunately, the vaccine shortage poses several problems for over 1.6 million Kenyan mothers and children. Here is how the vaccine shortage has affected them:
1. Parents Have to Travel Several Kilometers to Acquire a Vaccine for Their Kids
Back then, a parent just needed to visit the nearby health center, whether it was a level 1 or level 2 hospital, and could easily get a vaccine for their kid. However, this is no longer the case, as parents from 10 counties have to travel far and wide to access a vaccine or two for their kids.
Social health worker administering vaccine to a child
A good example is Estalina, who travelled 40 Km from Marigat town to the neighboring county to access a vaccine for her baby, who is 10 weeks old. This is because she could not get the rotavirus and DPT vaccine for her baby in Marigat town.
Unfortunately, she narrates that mothers can only secure one vaccine at a time, not two or even more. Upon immunization, the parent had to return home and wait until next month for her to get the other dose. That alone denies parents peace of mind and also causes them to waste time that could have been used for other productive activities.
2. Increase in the Risk of Infection For Babies and Young Children
The immunity of babies and young children is not strong enough to fight infections on its own. For this reason, it needs to be strengthened when they are at a tender age so that they can combat infections such as polio, measles, diphtheria, and tuberculosis, among others.
Failure to immunize babies and young children with the necessary vaccines in good time makes them vulnerable to the above-mentioned life-threatening diseases. If this is not checked, your child can even die.
Is There Hope For Kenyan Children and Mothers?
Yes. Kenyan children and mothers have a reason to smile as the Ministry of Health received over 8 million of doses of various vaccines on Wednesday 5th June 2024. Key amongst them include 1209500 doses of the Measles-Rubella vaccine,1 million doses of the Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccine,3,032000 doses of the Oral Polio vaccine, and 3129000 doses of BCG vaccines.
This comes after the Ministry of Health allocated Ksh. 1.25 billion to procure several childhood vaccines to deal with the acute shortage witnessed in the country recently. Currently, these vaccines are being distributed to 9 regional vaccine stores situated in different parts of the country first.
Thereafter, they will be distributed to various health centers where mothers and children can easily access them. These vaccines are expected to be available from the second week of this month. Until then, mothers and children will continue grappling with the abovementioned challenges.
