The Ministry of Health on Tuesday flagged off 2,061 cold chain equipment to health facilities across the 47 counties.
The equipment valued at Sh1 billion is part of the Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Programme (CCEOP) grant from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Speaking during the flag-off, Health CS Susan Nakhumicha said a functional cold chain system is a vital component of the immunisation supply chain process.
This, she said, is because it ensures that vaccines are kept at just the right temperature during the long journey from the manufacturing line to the syringe.
"Investing in a high-quality cold chain system ensures that the vaccines that reach our communities and children are effective upon administration and our children continue to be protected from vaccine preventable diseases," she said.
In October 2023, UNICEF started distributing vaccines in Kenya, but the El Nino floods in November and December slowed the process.
However, the distribution picked up speed in January and February 2024.
Kenya, one of the three pilot countries, will have its own cold chain bio-medical engineers handle the installation and commissioning of the Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Program (CCEOP) equipment in two phases.
The CCEOP project has facilitated the procurement of modern and efficient cold chain equipment and remote temperature monitoring tech, benefiting the immunization supply chain.
This equipment focuses on supporting immunization, particularly for zero-dose children, and delivering the HPV vaccine to girls.
According to UNICEF Kenya Country Representative Shaheen Nilofer, the equipment will expand access to immunization services in 2,061 health facilities across the country.
This, she said, will enable many more children, adolescent girls, and women in the most marginalized, vulnerable, and hard-to-reach communities to be reached with lifesaving vaccines.
"The offering of immunization services will increase due to the availability of high quality, modern CCE up to the highest international standards, and with vaccines being brought closer to the community in a more reliable way," Nilofer said.
The Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS 2022) reveals that, despite ongoing efforts to improve vaccination rates, only 80 prcent of children have received all recommended antigens.
However, three percent of children under one-year-old haven't received any vaccines.
This means around 320,000 children in Kenya are partially vaccinated each year, with approximately 48,000 classified as "zero dose" children who have not received any vaccines at all.
"Most of these children live among the most marginalized and of communities that face multiple deprivations," Nilofer said.
A 2016 national inventory of the country's cold chain showed that approximately one in five health facilities in Kenya (18 per cent) did not have any cold chain equipment.
These facilities would operate by using vaccine carriers and cold boxes to offer short term immunization services often leading to sub-optimal service delivery.
The audit further revealed that 81 per cent of the facilities with some type of cold chain equipment did not meet performance, quality, and safety (PQS) standards set for the immunization supply chain in Kenya (EVMA 2013).