Hundreds of Kenyan children have missed essential immunizations due to a two-month supply backlog of life-saving vaccinations.
Ten counties are the most affected; parents must drive significant distances to other counties to access these services.
The scarcity results from payment delays and a reduced budget for normal vaccine purchase and distribution.
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Estalina Lekalile joined scores of other parents at Baringo Referral Hospital on Monday morning for their children's standard childhood vaccinations.
Estalina had traveled 40 km from Marigat town after learning about a shortage of the DPT and rotavirus vaccinations required for her ten-week-old child.
Winnie Bore, the Chief Officer of Health in Baringo, verified the gravity of the problem. "We do not have the tetanus diphtheria vaccine and the oral polio vaccine, but currently we are also running low on the rota vaccine, the BCG, and other vaccines for which we have limited stock," she stated.
A letter from the Council of Governors to the Ministry of Health stated that counties have been dealing with a dwindling supply of six standard immunizations, putting hundreds of thousands of newborns at risk.
Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Nyamira, Kilifi, Siaya, and Migori are the most impacted counties.
Lena Kosgey, Head of Immunisation at Baringo, voiced her serious worry about the probable recurrence of avoidable illnesses.
"If we do not get these vaccines for a long time, then those diseases may come back to our communities. That is our main worry now, but we hope that the national government will keep its promise, as it said it will ensure the supply of vaccines by mid next month," she stated.
The budget decrease could result in Kenya losing 6.5 billion shillings in donor help for vaccine procurement and immunization programs, jeopardizing the country's objective of attaining self-reliance by 2030.
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