In Summary
- Severe shortage of crucial vaccines in Kenya
- Concerns raised by Health NGOs network and civil society organizations
- Health advocates emphasize the urgent need for government intervention.
Six counties in Kenya have reported shortage of crucial vaccines, exposing children under five to the risk of serious illnesses.
The Ministry of Health attributes this shortage to financial constraints.
READ also:Kenya’s Health Crisis Amidst The Doctors Strike
Concerns Raised By Health NGOs Network
Concerns have been raised by Health NGOs Network (HENNET) and other civil society organizations, including the Stop TB Partnership Kenya, regarding the lack of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccines for tuberculosis, measles, polio, rota virus, and tetanus.
A senior official at Health NGOs Network (HENNET) points out that there is a shortage of vaccines especially Measles, Polio and BCG which may become a crisis.
“Immunization is expected to come to a stop due to lack of vaccines.There is already a measles outbreak in Garrissa,in Nairobi the tetanus jab is not there as many people are being turned away.We need to have adequate resources for immunization,”the senior official pointed out.
“We have confirmation of about 6 counties lacking these vaccination,”she added.
The affected counties include Siaya, Kisumu, Kitui, Kakamega, Taita-Taveta, and Kajiado, with Nairobi also experiencing a shortage of the tetanus vaccine since January.
The situation is worsening, with reports of people being turned away from healthcare facilities due to vaccine stock-outs, leading to fears of a decline in immunization rates.
READ Also:Governors Demand On The Ongoing Doctors’ Strike
Questioning governments commitment
The Stop TB Partnership Kenya highlights the challenge of advocating for newer, more effective vaccines when existing supplies are inaccessible.
Evelie Kibuchi ,the leader of Stop TB Partnership Kenya , questions the government seriousness with its recent shift to more preventive rather that curatives to strengthen the Healthcare Agenda.
“The government had a para-dime shift in investing in preventive rather than curative,they want to invest more in preventive because cure is more expensive.
Therefore they are more cautious with preventives and we hear that there is stock out of preventive drugs .
The question begs that, is the government still committed to that prevention as a strategy to achieving universal health coverage and improved heath outcomes?”Kibuchi pointed out.
She stress the vulnerability of children to diseases like tuberculosis due to low immunity and the absence of vaccines.
“TB is serious when it affects children , since it is difficult to diagnose the disease in children because having to produce sputum is complicated, administering the 6-month dosage is even a bigger challenge.The minors immunity being low,children become very vulnerable to TB”she added.
Appeal for action
Kibuchi asked the government to put systems to ensure that those affected by floods access treatment without disruption especially for the communicable ones and chronic ones like Cancer TB and HIV
“The government should put systems to ensure that those who are affected by floods access their treatment without disruption,”she pointed out
“We want the ministry of health to work with the disaster management team to ensure those on treatment are back to there treatment as an emergency,”she added.
In a letter ,Health organizations are urging parliament to allocate more funds to the national immunization program to ensure sustained access to vaccines and prevent setbacks in public health.
Director General of Health
Acting Director General of Health, Dr. Patrick Amoth, acknowledges the shortage, attributing it to unpaid dues to UNICEF, which supplies vaccines. He assures the public of efforts to resolve the situation promptly.
“Annually the government has a ceiling of about Sh 600 million for the vaccines through UNICEF,which has not been paid and this is the reason the supply has stopped,”he said.
