How educating girls boosts efforts to immunise all children

A child receives a dose of measles vaccine in Rongai, Nairobi, November 2nd, 2012. (Photo: Courtesy)

Knowledge is power. It’s a saying that goes back centuries, and has resonance with so many situations around the world. But in one particular case, knowledge can mean the difference between life and death: immunisation.

Globally, immunisation is considered a vital factor in reducing child mortality and ensuring children can survive and thrive to adulthood. But in Kenya, as of 2015, nearly one in five infants – over 19 million Kenyan children – missed out on the basic vaccines they need to stay healthy. This low immunization level compromises gains that Kenya has made in all other areas of health for mothers and children. And sadly, the poorest and most vulnerable children are most likely to be unimmunised.

Barriers to practice

But why is this the case? Well, there are intrinsic barriers that I believe are preventing immunization becoming universally accepted – and requested – within the country. Most of these barriers can be traced to attitudes and lack of awareness. And one of the best ways to overcome these barriers? Educating girls.

A recent study found that Kenyan mothers who had at least a primary education were between two and nine times more likely to vaccinate their children than those without this formal education. We see this manifest itself in multiple ways across Kenyan society.

Consider, for example, rural areas where young mothers with limited or no formal education rely on information from their antenatal centers or healthcare professionals to decide on whether to immunise their child. When this information from a nurse or doctor is not available, those mothers are denied opportunities to receive immunisation to their infants.

Should the infant subsequently become the victim of a preventable disease, the attitude that normally prevails is that fate cannot be sidestepped. County and central governments have a duty to offer roving educators and mobile health centers in rural communities in order to give mothers the education they need to protect their children.

As the world marks 16 Days of Gender Activism, it is also important to note the impact that patriarchal structures have on the health of children and immunization education. Kenya, like many other African states, remains a predominantly patriarchal society, where the role of the man is naturally elevated and more often than not becomes unquestionable. In instances where customs and culture run counter to the ideal of immunisation, the fate of the unborn child is already sealed, even though the mother may hold a different point of view.

Empower girls

Our aim should always be to empower our girls with a good education, helping to transform them from girls into their very own knowledgeable leader. Misunderstandings and misconceptions about immunisation from religious leaders could also have a negative influence on broad swathes of childbearing women. When there is a misunderstanding about an immunisation campaign by a religious organisation, many illiterate or semi-literate mothers are negatively influenced, or may be too afraid to question this information. This miseducation can take a long time to overcome, impacting immunisation levels for years.

The importance of religious leaders in empowering girls with knowledge about immunisation is therefore paramount. When Raila Odinga falsely claimed that the tetanus vaccine was responsible for causing infertility amongst women, I was delighted to see the Catholic Health Commission of Kenya step in to encourage people to trust the experts instead of Odinga. The hard work by both the medical and religious community to reach a common understanding cannot be undone by wily politicians if religious leaders take a principled stand and seek to enshrine the truth. Our girls, our future female leaders, can only benefit from this kind of intervention.

All of these barriers to immunisation can be felled by one factor – the power of an educated girl. An educated girl is better equipped to question misinformation about immunisation and make an informed choice for her child. And ultimately, an educated girl is another positive step towards a generation of empowered and knowledgeable female leaders in Kenya.

Mrs Janet Mbugua Ndichu is currently working on a Gender Equality project that will be unveiled early next year.