In Kathmandu district, health authorities estimate that over 7,000 children aged six to eight are out of school and at risk of missing the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) during the current immunisation drive. These children are part of the floating population, including those whose parents work in construction sectors, factories, or reside in slum settlements, making it challenging to locate them for vaccination.
Dr. Arjun Sapkota, chief of the Health Office in Kathmandu, expressed concern that children in these high-risk groups might miss out on the vaccination programme. Despite plans to run vaccination sessions at health facilities on the campaign’s last day, there’s uncertainty about reaching all children who missed the vaccine.
The Ministry of Health and Population launched the nationwide immunisation drive targeting over 1.46 million children born between April 2016 and October 2018. These children missed the IPV due to a global shortage, receiving only Type-1 and Type-3 oral polio vaccines. The campaign aims to address this gap.Dr. Abhiyan Gautam, chief of the Immunisation Section of the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services, acknowledged the difficulties in providing health care services, including routine vaccines, to out-of-school children and other hard-to-reach populations. The health department plans to send workers to at-risk areas to locate and vaccinate these children. During the measles-rubella campaign in February, health workers identified over 74,000 out-of-school children nationwide. Efforts will continue to reach children in designated risk zones, despite the challenges posed by floating populations, scattered slums, and limited access to health services.
Nepal has been polio-free since 2010, with the World Health Organization officially recognizing this status on March 27, 2014, after three consecutive years of zero polio cases. The country introduced the IPV vaccine in September 2014 and switched to the bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (bOPV) from the trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (tOPV). The trivalent vaccine, which included all three types of poliovirus, was effective but carried a risk of vaccine-derived poliovirus, leading to cases of vaccine-associated paralytic polio. The IPV vaccine, consisting of inactivated poliovirus strains of all three types, was incorporated to mitigate these risks.
Despite the focus on childhood immunisation and the success of Nepal’s regular immunisation programme, the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey-2022 revealed that four percent of children aged 12 to 23 months received no vaccines at all, compared to one percent in 2016. The national polio vaccine coverage rate stands at 95 percent. Efforts continue to ensure all children, especially those in hard-to-reach populations, receive necessary vaccinations to maintain Nepal’s polio-free status and overall public health.
