Protect children under-five
No child should be denied this vital cog in the early years of its development.
The importance of children under five years building immunity against diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), measles, diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus cannot be overemphasised. It is shocking that news reports are indicating that public hospitals do not have the required vaccines for the under-fives.
A child, from birth, should be helped to build immunity against these killer diseases and a whole range of others through immunisation for their bodies to acquire the strength to fight these diseases. Active and passive immunity is crucial.
Kenya has made huge strides in immunisation. Kenya Expanded Programme on Immunisation (Kepi) has, since the 1980s, ensured the expansion of immunisation of the under-fives and the safety and longevity of the vaccines through the cold chain process, especially in the rural areas.
The worrying reports of lack of vaccines should be cause for alarm. No child should be denied this vital cog in the early years of its development.
The Ministry of Health, through the Cabinet Secretary, Susan Nakhumicha Wafula, has dismissed the reports as inaccurate. Visits to hospitals, however, indicate the opposite. We should not go back to those years when children relied on natural immunisation through getting infected or mother’s anti-bodies being passed to the foetus before birth. Artificial-induced immunisation is a must when one considers the current environment.
The lack of a clean and healthy environment provides the ideal environment for micro-organisms to thrive. Remember, the vigorous global campaign against small-pox culminated in its eradication.
We must not allow a return to the era of the six child killer diseases of the 1960s and ‘70s, when polio ruled the world. Let all children get the jab.
Mr Kigo is an environmentalist. [email protected].
