Economy

Children miss vital vaccines as nurses strike

cleopa

Health secretary Cleopa Mailu. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The Health ministry has raised the alarm over the rising number of children missing compulsory vaccines due to the ongoing nurses’ strike, exposing Kenya to the risk of diseases such as polio, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.

Health secretary Cleopa Mailu Thursday launched a plan to vaccinate over 300,000 children and mothers in arid and semi-arid counties who have missed the vaccines including tetanus, BCG, measles and influenza.

The vaccines are normally administered by nurses and those working in public hospitals have been on strike since June 6, over delays in implementing a new pay deal.

READ: Meeting with nurses over biting 135-day strike aborts

Dr Mailu said the strike has increasingly exposed children under five, pregnant women and the entire population to preventable diseases and deaths.

“Most vulnerable persons are unable to receive the essential package of health from the affordable public health facilities and they have gone without these critical services for months,” said Dr Mailu.