Kenya’s child vaccination coverage suffers due to conflict

According to a new study, Kenya records its lowest child vaccination coverage in Mandera County due to its proximity to the Somalia border.

According to a report by the Peace Research Institute Oslo PRIO based in Norway, regular cross-border attacks by Islamist group Al-Shabaab have dealt a blow to health efforts to ensure universal coverage of child immunisation.

The proportion of fully immunised children in the county was found to be 28 percent, which is well below the standard national average of 71 percent.

The chances of getting a vaccine are 47.2 percent lower if an armed conflict occurs within 10 kilometres from where a child is residing. Areas marred by high-intensity of armed conflicts tend to have a slow uptake of child vaccine services.

The findings indicate that conflicts cause reduced national public health expenditures and cause logistical nightmares resulting in depressed full immunisation rates.

In South Sudan, for example, the combined vaccination coverage against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus was 75 percent at independence in 2011.

The country has a decline to 46 percent by 2014 because of post-independence civil conflicts, according to World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children's Fund estimates.

Since the November 2020 conflict between the Ethiopian forces and the northern Tigrayan rebels broke out, Tigray's gains in health have been watered down to 1990 s levels.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, about 70 percent of the assessed hospitals and health centres in Ethiopia have been partially or fully damaged.

More than 2.5 million people are missing essential health services because of this.

The WHO estimates that 48 deaths and three injuries in Somalia were caused by attacks on health care personnel and facilities.

Marleen Temmerman, Director of the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health at Aga Khan University East Africa, said, "We know what needs to be done, and we have always articulated these needs."