Over 200,000 children have been vaccinated against polio in Kajiado County during phase one of the vaccination campaign against the paralysis causing disease.
According to Samson Saigilu, Kajiado County Director of Public Health, 88 per cent of children aged five years and below had been vaccinated during the first round of the vaccination campaign, which commenced on August 24 to 28, 2023.
The five-day vaccination campaign launched by the Ministry of Health is targeting 7.4 million children in 10 counties and is being spearheaded by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Kenya, World Health Organization (WHO)and other health partners.
A total of 1.8 million children aged five in four high risk counties namely Nairobi, Kiambu, Garissa and Kajiado were targeted during the first round of the campaign.
The second and third campaign that will be conducted between September and October will target 5.6 million children in six counties of Kitui, Machakos, Tana River, Lamu, Wajir and Mandera.
The latest campaign follows the detection of six poliovirus cases among children in the Hagadera Refugee Camps in Garissa County.
Although Kenya has been free of any wild poliovirus (WPV) circulation since 2014, the country continues to be at risk especially at the border with the horn of Africa region due to low immunization and high population movement.
Polio is a highly infectious, debilitating disease which affects children under the age of five and causes permanent paralysis. The viral infection is not curable, and can only be prevented by vaccination.
By Rop Janet
