Kenya to Increase Vaccination Outreach in Nomadic Regions

The Kenyan government is scaling up immunisation efforts in nomadic pastoralist areas, launching targeted outreach campaigns to reach children who have been missing routine vaccines. In Turkana County, the health department recently held a stakeholders’ meeting supported by PATH to boost vaccination coverage among mobile communities. Officials noted that zero‑dose rates — where children have never received any vaccine — remain high, largely due to long distances to health facilities and widespread misinformation
One key strategy is the expansion of the One Health Kimormor initiative, a mobile clinic model that provides human and animal health services simultaneously. The joint clinics are strategically set up along migratory routes and livestock kraals, making it easier for nomadic families to access essential childhood vaccines without disrupting their pastoralist lifestyle.
Community Health Promoters (CHPs) also play a crucial role in the campaign: they are recruited from within nomadic groups and travel with the communities, performing household visits, tracing defaulters, and helping to deliver immunisation services more consistently.Over 19 cross-border health facilities in Turkana have also intensified disease surveillance, training local staff in immunisation and community reporting.
Health officials and local leaders say the initiative is already producing results. They report rising vaccine uptake, especially among pastoralist children, and predict that improved outreach — combined with regular community engagement — could significantly reduce the number of unvaccinated children in these historically underserved regions. As Kenya continues this effort, experts hope it will be a blueprint for improving access to health services in other remote, mobile populations.