Children at risk as fear keeps mothers away from clinics

Sophia Lelemur, from Ilng’arua village in Baringo South, has faithfully taken her son Gabriel to a local health centre for vaccination since he was born one-and-a- half years ago.

Now, she is not sure if she wants to take Gabriel back for a Vitamin A and a second measles vaccine, or give him herbs to boost his immune system. 

The reason? Covid-19.

Baby Gabriel was expected to receive the two vaccines last week, but his mother is reluctant to adhere to the vaccination schedule.

“What if he gets coronavirus,” she asks.

Growing fear

As the number of people infected by Covid-19 in Kenya slowly but steadily continues to grow, the mother of six, who has always taken her children for vaccination in the past, is afraid for their safety at the health centre.

The measles vaccine is important for her son’s immunity, but in her fear, measles is the least of her worries at the moment.

“My son is not sick at the moment, the vaccines he took earlier are enough until this coronavirus ends. I will not take him to the health centre because I do not know who we might come into contact with there,” says the mother.

Lelemur is not alone. As the dark cloud of Covid-19 spreads across Kenya, more mothers in Baringo County are reluctant to take their children to health facilities for anything that they believe can be cured at home with herbal concoctions. 

Home deliveries 

A few homesteads away, Janet Lekachuma delivered at home a month ago.

The mother of two says she took the baby for a Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine after birth, and was supposed to go back for a follow-up when rumours that health facilities were Covid-19 hotspots reached her.

She did not return to the clinic.

According to the Ministry of Health vaccination schedule, within the first two weeks, babies should receive a BCG and polio vaccine. At six weeks, the babies should get their first dose of polio, pneumonia and diphtheria vaccines.

But Lekachuma says she is not afraid of polio, pneumonia and diphtheria. She is afraid of Covid-19.

“I am afraid. Only God will keep my baby safe,” she says.

Health workers in Baringo have expressed concern about the dwindling number of mothers taking their children for life-saving vaccines since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Kenya.

Number fall by a half 

At Barpello Mission Hospital, Emily Wasike says that before the pandemic, at least 500 children below the age of five were immunised every month through the hospital’s outreach programme in Kreeze, Phagit, Tuwit, Katuwit and Ngeleyo locations.

However, in March this year, only 250 children were immunised at the mission facility.

“We might end up with cases of measles, yellow fever and malnutrition if the children are not brought for immunisation,” says Sr Wasike.

Baringo health report indicates that 17,396 were immunised in 2019. Immunisation of newborns in the county stood at 72 per cent against the national target of 80 per cent.

Health experts warn that unless both the county and national governments intervene, this year’s vaccination numbers will dip. To mitigate this, the Kenya Red Cross Society has announced plans to launch door-to-door vaccination in the county.

Public health disaster

According to the society’s county representative Christopher Okotch, this will be the only way to prevent a public health disaster of an entire generation with little or no immunity to life-threatening diseases. 

County chief officer of public health Winnie Bore admitted that the number of residents seeking vaccination services in public health facilities has fallen drastically since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in the country.

Dr Bore said the health department together with the local administration was sensitising locals on the importance of following an uninterrupted immunisation programme for their children.

“We do not want to risk children getting diseases, including cases of maternal and infant deaths due to failure to access services. This is why we are undertaking Covid-19 training to counter the mothers’ fears,” she said.