Publication

Childhood vaccination in Kenya: socioeconomic determinants and disparities among the Somali ethnic community

Authored by:

Masters NB, Wagner AL, Carlson BF et al.

Full Citation:

Masters NB, Wagner AL, Carlson BF et al. 2018. Childhood vaccination in Kenya: socioeconomic determinants and disparities among the Somali ethnic community. International Journal of Public Health. 64(3).

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Additional key concepts from this publication:

Migrants and those displaced by conflict have lower vaccination rates and are especially vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases.

Key Evidence: Somali refugee children in Kenya were nearly 60 times more likely than children of the main ethnic group in the study (Kikuyu) to not have received any childhood immunization and more than twice as likely to have not completed their vaccinations. Although Somali children made up less than 8% of the sample, they accounted for nearly half of all non-vaccinated children.

From the VoICE Editors: This study used data from Kenya’s Demographic and Health Survey data.

Children from poorer refugee and migrant families have less access to health services and lower vaccination rates than the surrounding population.

From the VoICE Editors: This study used data from Kenya’s Demographic and Health Survey data.

Studies have shown that poorer children tend to be vaccinated at lower rates than wealthier children.

Key Evidence: Non-Somali children in Kenya in the poorest households were nearly three times as likely to be unvaccinated than children from middle-income households, while wealthier children were significantly less likely to be unvaccinated.

Children born to mothers who received health care services during pregnancy and/or delivery have higher vaccination rates than children whose mothers received less or no care.

Key Evidence: Kenyan children born outside of a health facility with the aid of a traditional birth attendant were around 80% more likely to be non-vaccinated or under-vaccinated than children born in a government health facility.

Inequities exist in marginalized populations and minority groups who may have poorer access to health services, including immunizations.

Key Evidence: In contrast to non-Somalis, family wealth did not significantly affect the likelihood of being fully vaccinated among Somali refugee children living in Kenya. This may point to systemic barriers to vaccination that cut across all socio-economic levels of the Somali refugee population.