Kenya could save an estimated Sh3.9 billion ($30 million) in healthcare costs as it steps up vaccination of children to prevent the deadly rotavirus infection, an assessment has revealed.

A report by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and One Health Trust, part of the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP), estimates that the campaign would prevent over 60,900 child deaths and approximately 216,000 hospitalisations over the next two decades.

"Vaccination can avert 60,935 deaths and 216,454 hospital admissions among children under five. Over 20 years, a Sh10.3 billion investment in the vaccine would save the government Sh3.9 billion in healthcare costs and Sh4,902 per disability-adjusted life year averted,” the document said.

Before the vaccine was introduced in 2014, rotavirus—the leading cause of severe diarrhoea in young children—was costing Kenya's healthcare system Sh1.4 billion ($10.8 million) annually, covering the cost of hospital beds, medicines, laboratory tests, and care for thousands of children under five. The disease claimed about 4,400 young lives each year and hospitalised 8,700 children.

Since the vaccine was added to the routine immunisation schedule, the monthly average number of cases of severe gastroenteritis at sentinel sites has fallen from 97 to 24, representing a 75 percent reduction.

Rotavirus-specific infections have dropped by 53.4 percent, with the greatest improvements seen among infants under one year old. For families, this has meant fewer hospital visits, lower medical bills, and a reduced risk of life-threatening illness.

Rotavirus vaccine coverage has increased from 19 percent in 2014 to 82 percent in 2024, making it one of the country's strongest recent immunisation gains, though coverage remains uneven across counties.

Despite progress, Kenya is currently facing a severe shortage of the rotavirus vaccine, with fewer than 4,000 doses remaining at the national level—less than one month's supply—following production delays at Bharat Biotech, the Indian manufacturer of the Rotavac frozen vaccine, which is upgrading its production facility.

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