The Treasury has set aside Sh4.6 billion for vaccines in a bid to prevent a funding crunch that previously triggered shortages of child immunisation supplies, as donors continue to cut funding.
Budget documents tabled in Parliament show the allocation for the financial year starting July 2026 represents a 130 percent increase from the Sh2.0 billion earmarked for the vaccine programme in the current financial year ending June.
The increased funding follows repeated stockouts that have left millions of children vulnerable to diseases like measles, polio, and whooping cough, which can resurge quickly when coverage falls below protective thresholds.
In June last year, stocks of BCG and polio vaccines dropped to just a two-week supply, with 12 of Kenya’s 47 counties reporting complete stockouts.
More recently, a nationwide shortage of the rotavirus vaccine was triggered by production delays at manufacturer Bharat Biotech, which left the country with only 4,000 doses, less than a month’s supply.
The national immunisation coverage currently stands at about 80 percent, below the government’s target of 90 percent, leaving an estimated 300,000 infants unvaccinated each year.
The impact is most severe in marginalised regions due to facility-level stockouts and disrupted outreach services. The rising domestic allocation also reflects Kenya’s gradual transition away from donor support.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which has supported Kenya’s immunisation programme for over two decades, is expected to fully phase out its support by 2030.
Meanwhile, external funding has already declined by about 30.8 percent, from Sh2.6 billion to Sh1.8 billion, as the country moves towards self-financing, despite Sh1.6 billion in unpaid co-financing arrears owed to Gavi.
‘Kenya knew as early as 2003 that Gavi funding for childhood vaccines would eventually come to an end. The plan was to gradually increase domestic financing so that, by the time Gavi exited, we would be adequately prepared. However, this did not happen, and we remained dependent,’ said Dr James Nyikal, chair of the National Assembly Health Committee.
The country continues to struggle with co-financing obligations, under which the government is expected to cover about 15 percent of the cost of new vaccines and injection supplies.
‘We have two systems for procuring vaccines in Kenya: full government financing for some vaccines and a co-financing arrangement with Gavi. We faced a temporary challenge due to delays in exchequer releases, but the National Treasury has committed to settling the Sh930 million as part of its outstanding obligation,’ said Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.
Kenya’s immunisation schedule covers diseases including tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumonia, rotavirus diarrhoea, measles, rubella, and cervical cancer.
The programme is implemented by the Ministry of Health through the Kenya Expanded Programme on Immunisation (KEPI), delivered via public health facilities and community outreach services.
Overall, combined government and donor contributions will raise total vaccine programme spending to Sh6.4 billion in the financial year starting July, up from Sh4.6 billion currently-an increase of 39.1 percent.
Spending is projected to remain at Sh6.4 billion in the 2027/28 financial year before declining slightly to Sh5.8 billion the following year, a trend that could complicate Kenya’s transition to full self-financing.