The County Department of Health and Sanitation seeks to increase routine vaccine coverage across all the sub-counties, as instances of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases are reported.
Participants drawn from County and Sub-county Management Teams, held a review meeting, in collaboration with PanAfricare Kenya, to discuss the strategies to increase the immunisation services.
During the meeting, the Director for Preventive and Promotive, Dr. Bonventure Ameyo said the Department has put immense efforts into decreasing dose cases and integrating COVID-19, measles, and Hepatitis B into the routine immunization schedule.
“To reduce the drop-out rate, defaulter tracing and locating children who have not been vaccinated [zero doses] to have efficient routine immunization services,” he said.
The County Expanded Programme on Immunisation Coordinator, Dr. Daniel Erus, highlighted the recommendations that will steer forward increased coverage of routine immunization and scale-up immunizations on targeted groups across the Sub-counties.
“As a technical working team, we will address gaps in cold chain infrastructure, facilitate monthly distribution of vaccines, in a bid to shun inconsistencies and conduct early mobilization of resources,” Erus said
One of the successful integration vaccination projects is the Vaccination Action Network Project implemented by PanAfricare Kenya, where it has managed to vaccinate 12,000 people against COVID-19.
According to Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning Specialist, Bernard Imbeywa, it had been achieved through conducting vaccination outreaches, leveraging public gatherings, and holding training for healthcare workers and community health promoters at the grassroots level.
The Clinton Health Access Initiative Field Coordinator, Amadi Chamwada, stressed the importance of conducting a physical count of the vaccines before issuance for data management.
The participants resolved to implement the recommendations to improve the immunization services for the long-term benefit of the county.
