133,000 children miss key vaccines as coverage falls, new report says
A boy gets typhoid jab in Nakuru on July 5, 2025.
A staggering 133,000 Kenyan children missed out on essential routine vaccines in 2024, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report that highlights a troubling decline in the country's immunisation coverage.
The data, released yesterday in collaboration with Unicef shows that while vaccination coverage has improved modestly worldwide, Kenya is bucking the global trend with a concerning drop in childhood immunisation rates compared to previous years.
The report shows Kenya now accounts for 4.7 per cent of zero-dose children—those who received no vaccines at all—in Eastern and Southern Africa, and 0.9 per cent globally. This represents a drastic increase of 90,000 unvaccinated children compared to 2023.
Of the 14 vaccines included in Kenya's Expanded Programme on Immunisation (KEPI) schedule, only four achieved the recommended coverage of 90 per cent or higher last year. This shortfall has left thousands of children vulnerable to preventable diseases.
The situation was compounded by reported stock-outs of critical vaccines, including the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine for tuberculosis prevention, Measles-Rubella (MR), and Oral Polio vaccines.
Measles vaccination faced particular challenges, with approximately 178,000 children missing their routine first dose, making it the second least covered vaccine. The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, introduced in 2020 as Kenya's newest routine immunisation, recorded the lowest coverage at just 4 per cent last year.
However, HPV coverage showed improvement in 2024, with first-dose coverage reaching 79 per cent among eligible girls aged 9-14, though completion rates remained low at 36 per cent.
The WHO noted that Kenya has experienced measles vaccine stock-outs repeatedly in 2018, 2019, 2020, and again in 2024, pointing to ongoing supply chain vulnerabilities.
Compared to 2023, eight vaccines saw decreased coverage, including BCG, Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP1 and DTP3), Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV1), first-dose Measles vaccine (MCV1), Pneumococcal vaccine (PCV3), third-dose Polio vaccine, and Yellow Fever vaccine. Only the Rotavirus vaccine showed improved coverage.
New vaccines
Since 2002, Kenya has expanded its immunisation programme by adding nine new vaccines, demonstrating the country's commitment to child health despite current challenges.
"It is encouraging to see a continued increase in the number of children being vaccinated, although we still have a lot of work to do," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "Drastic cuts in aid, coupled with misinformation about the safety of vaccines, threaten to unwind decades of progress."
Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell emphasised the urgency of addressing the crisis: "We must act now with determination to overcome barriers such as shrinking health budgets, fragile health systems along with misinformation and access constraints because of conflicts. No child should die from a disease we know how to prevent."
The WHO attributes the declining vaccination rates to a combination of factors, including limited access to immunisation services, disrupted supply chains, conflict and instability, and misinformation about vaccines.
"Even small declines in immunisation coverage can dramatically raise the risk of disease outbreaks and put additional strain on already overstretched health systems," the WHO warned.
Dr Adeel Shah, a paediatric Infectious Disease Specialist, acknowledged that while there is no serious effect if children miss some vaccines given at birth, earlier vaccination provides better protection.
"We do see common side effects such as pain and inflammation around the injection site or a bit of fever after the vaccine," he explained, noting that serious adverse effects are quite rare.
Infectious diseases
Prof Walter Jaoko, who teaches medical microbiology and tropical medicine at the University of Nairobi, stressed the need to ensure children are vaccinated.
"Vaccination protects the child from getting infectious diseases and also controls transmission of the infectious diseases to others in the community," he said.
"Not being vaccinated predisposes children to measles, whooping cough, TB, polio, Diphtheria, and all with serious risks of complications including blindness from measles, paralysis from polio, and even death."
Prof Jaoko highlighted the broader economic implications of reduced vaccination coverage, noting that leaving children unvaccinated significantly increases the financial burden on the country's healthcare system.
"The costs of treatment by far outweigh that of prevention," he emphasised.
Prof Jaoko pointed to technology's role in spreading vaccine misinformation, making parents vulnerable to false information that discourages vaccination.
"In the past it was not easy to pass false information since the airways and print media was largely controlled by institutions that had a duty to behave responsibly," Prof Jaoko explained. "But with liberation through the Internet, we lost that control and now anyone can post anything and anyone can access anything posted. The problem is that there are people who take as gospel truth whatever they see on the internet."
The WHO reiterated its commitment to supporting countries in developing local solutions and increasing domestic investment to ensure all children receive life-saving vaccines.
Dr Tedros concluded: "WHO remains committed to working with our partners to support countries to develop local solutions and increase domestic investment to reach all children with the lifesaving power of vaccines."
