Years of expanded vaccination efforts in Kenya and other African countries appear to be paying off.
The World Health Organization estimates that 51.2 million lives have been saved through vaccines in Africa over the past 50 years.
The WHO says these achievements have been made possible under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), an initiative launched in 1974 as a global endeavour to ensure equitable access to life-saving vaccines for every child, regardless of their geographic location or socioeconomic status.
The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022 indicates more than 80 per cent of children aged 12–23 months in Kenya are fully immunised.
The WHO report, which assesses the life-saving impact of vaccines, was released last week at the start of this year’s African Vaccination Week and World Immunisation Week marked from April 24–30 under the theme “Safeguarding Our Future: Humanly Possible”.
With the continuous support from WHO, Unicef, Gavi and others, most countries in the region provide vaccines for 13 diseases, up from the initial six when the EPI was introduced.
The KDHS indicates that despite Kenya’s progress, only 38 per cent of children aged 24–35 months are fully vaccinated against the 13 diseases, according to the national schedule.
Children, who are not fully vaccinated, might become vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella and whooping cough.
The WHO says improved vaccination rates over the years have led to reduction in measles deaths, with an estimated 19.5 million deaths averted in the last 22 years.
The African region has witnessed a sharp decline in meningitis deaths by up to 39 per cent in 2019 compared to 2000.
Maternal and neonatal tetanus has nearly been eliminated in the region, and in a historic public health achievement, the African region was declared free of indigenous wild poliovirus in 2022, following years of relentless work to protect children from the virus.
“From disease prevention to eradication, the success story of vaccines is a compelling one. Millions of people are alive and healthy today thanks to the protection vaccines offer,” WHO regional director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti said.
“We have half a century of momentum and have accomplished so much. Now we must sustain and expand vaccine equity to end the threat of vaccine-preventable diseases.”
The rollout of new vaccines such as the first-ever malaria vaccine, and expansion of existing vaccines, such as for HPV, which protects against the leading cause of cervical cancer, has also set up future generations in Africa with an opportunity to thrive.
The RTS,S malaria vaccine was rolled out in Kenya through a pilot programme from 2019 and is now available in eight counties in Western Kenya.
“Today, we celebrate the monumental advances governments and partners have taken across Africa in the last 50 years to ensure so many more children on the continent are living past their fifth birthday thanks to vaccination,” Unicef regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa Etleva Kadilli said.
“Leaders, partners and donors must strive to protect immunisation gains in the region, especially in the face of backsliding rates in recent years.”
Through Gavi, an alliance of immunisation partners including WHO and Unicef established in 2000 to expand the impact of the EPI, countries are supported to deliver vaccines against vaccine-preventable diseases, including cervical cancer and malaria, and to respond to outbreaks of diseases such as ebola and cholera.
“The evidence is clear: vaccines are one of the most impactful and cost-effective investments in health and development in history,” said Thabani Maphosa, managing director of Country Programmes Delivery at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
"Over the past two decades, Gavi has worked with 40 African countries to expand immunisation coverage while delivering new innovations like the HPV and malaria vaccines and responding to deadly outbreaks – saving millions of lives and generating billions in economic benefits.”
“With climate change, crises and the threat of infectious disease on the rise it is more important than ever that governments invest in immunisation to help ensure everyone, everywhere has an equal opportunity for a safe and healthy future.”
While progress in vaccine coverage has been made, the region still faces challenges in achieving and sustaining high immunisation coverage rates for most of the vaccine-preventable diseases.
There are also challenges in ensuring equitable vaccine access across the continent, with a significant number of children yet to receive a single dose of life-saving vaccines, while others are not receiving enough doses.
In 2022, coverage for the first and third doses of the diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis-containing vaccine (DTP1 and DTP3, respectively) and the first dose of the measles-containing vaccine (MCV1) in the region was estimated at 80 per cent, 72 per cent and 69 per cent, respectively (all below the 2019 level).
Only 13 of the 47 countries in the region achieved the global target coverage of 90 per cent or above with DTP3 in 2022.
Efforts to address gaps in immunisation coverage have been intensified through the “Big Catch-Up” initiative that aims to reach children who have been underserved or missed by routine vaccination programmes.
Innovative initiatives such as the Zero-Dose Immunisation Programme have also been established to reach communities that are living in conflict and fragile areas with essential health services.
Further efforts are needed to accelerate progress to meet the goals of Immunisation Agenda 2030, a strategy endorsed during the WHO World Health Assembly in 2020, which seeks to reduce mortality and morbidity from vaccine-preventable diseases, ensure equitable access to vaccines and strengthen immunisation within primary healthcare.
A regional framework to implement the Immunisation Agenda has been adopted.