Thousands of Kenyan children remain vulnerable to deadly diseases such as polio and measles, the World Health Organization says.
The organisation said although immunisation services have started to recover from Covid-19 disruptions, mass campaigns have yet to resume.
Mass immunisation campaigns for measles and polio in Kenya have been postponed since 2019.
“If we’re to avoid multiple outbreaks of life-threatening diseases like measles, yellow fever and diphtheria, we must ensure routine vaccination services are protected in every country in the world,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s Director-General, said in a statement.
According to Unicef, between March and June 2020, the use of outpatient services for children under-five declined by almost half in Kenya.
Over the same period, uptake of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine declined by nine per cent, antenatal care appointments by 10 per cent, and skilled birth deliveries by four per cent, Unicef says.
The Ministry of Health says routine immunisation has recovered from the slump.
“It is very important to have vaccines during a pandemic, simply because there are other diseases that are still going on amidst the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Dr Fathiya Hamumy from the Ministry of Health’s National Vaccine and Immunisation Programme.
Travel restrictions, curfews and fear of getting infected were responsible for the slump in Kenya last year.
“Now that vaccines are at the forefront of everyone’s minds, we must sustain this energy to help every child catch up on their measles, polio and other vaccines. We have no time to waste. Lost ground means lost lives,” Henrietta Fore, Unicef executive director, added in a statement.
Serious measles outbreaks have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan and Yemen because of gaps in vaccination.
To support the recovery, WHO Unicef, Gavi and other partners on Wednesday launched the Immunisation Agenda 2030, a new global strategy to maximise the impact of vaccines through stronger delivery systems.
The agenda focuses on vaccination throughout life, from infancy through to adolescence and older age.
If fully implemented, it will avert an estimated 50 million deaths, 75 per cent of them in low and lower-middle income countries, WHO said.
In October last year, Kemri-Wellcome Trust Research Programme warned at least seven million susceptible Kenyan children have not received booster doses for measles.
A nationwide drive first due in February 2019 was postponed by lack of funds, then by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kemri scientists said the chance of an outbreak is as high as 40 per cent.
"Following the start of Covid-19 and restriction measures that decreased vaccination coverage, we estimate population immunity decreased quickly, depending on the extent of reduction in vaccination coverage," Kemri said in a modelling study.
(edited o. owino)