The second round of the five-day polio immunization campaign has kicked off in Kiambu County, aiming to reach at least 3.1 million children under the age of five across the nation.
Kiambu is one of ten high-risk counties for polio, alongside Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Kitui, Tana River, Garissa, Lamu, Wajir, and Mandera.
Collaborating with county governments and partners, the Ministry of Health successfully conducted the first round of the polio campaign in Kiambu, Kajiado, Garissa, and Nairobi earlier this year, achieving excellent coverage.
In the initial campaign, 1,960,748 children under five were vaccinated out of a target of 1,879,402 children, exceeding the goal with 104.2% coverage.
Now, during the second round, health officials aim to reach 22,191 more children under five in Kiambu County.
Dr. June Nyakianda, Kiambu Sub-County Medical Officer of Health, emphasized that teams are actively visiting every ward in the county, vaccinating children in schools, daycare centers, homes, and public areas.
Fingers of vaccinated children will be marked with indelible ink, and homes, where vaccination occurs, will be marked with colored chalk.
Despite these efforts, Dr. Nyakianda acknowledged the challenge of vaccine hesitancy within some communities and encouraged parents to ensure their children receive the required vaccine dose, emphasizing the vaccine’s safety.
The ongoing polio outbreaks are linked to missed vaccination opportunities among children, prompting the second and third planned vaccination rounds following the polio outbreak in June. The Ministry of Health confirmed that virus transmission remains active in Garissa County, particularly within refugee camps, where two additional polio cases were detected, bringing the total to eight cases.
Kiambu County, with a population of 2,417,735 according to the 2019 Population Census, includes 87,594 children aged 3 to 5 years within its demographic range.
The campaign remains a crucial initiative to safeguard children from polio and prevent further outbreaks in the region.
