Clean Heart, Hard Truths: The Community Health Workers Confronting Vaccine Myths in Coastal Kenya

Written with field contributions from David Wedeva and Alexander Kieti of HENNET Kenya. 

Mwanamkasi Hassan started her work as a community health worker in Kilifi County, Kenya with a simple conviction. "I started this work with a clean heart," she says. "I serve the community wholeheartedly." 

That clean heart runs into her daily interactions with the community she serves. Some parents tell her vaccines cause infertility. Others insist the injections are disguised family planning. Mwanamkasi listens, corrects, persuades. "I know how immunization will help, even though some parents say the vaccine is to prevent childbirth and is for family planning. It is not for family planning." 

She is not alone in this fight. In Kisumu County, 500 kilometers west, Sarah Omondi faces a different version of the same difficulty. As a community health worker, she visits five to six mothers a week, many older than she is. "It really takes me time to advise and encourage a mother who's a bit older than me to go to the immunization clinic," Sarah says. Age and social hierarchy add friction. Persuading an elder to trust a younger woman's guidance on vaccines requires patience and persistence. 

In the same county, Merceline Kyasaya confronts a myth that quietly strips children of protection after their first birthday. "They believe that when a child reaches one year, the child should not be brought for immunization, and that is not right because immunization [to protect infants] goes up to five years." 

Together, these three women paint a picture of misinformation stretching across coastal, lakeside and inland communities. The myths converge on a single consequence: children left unvaccinated. 

Health systems based on supported human resources work 

When community health workers are supported, the results speak. Edward Mumbo, Head of the Division of Primary Health Care in Kilifi County, points to hard evidence. "Based on the demographic and health survey of 2022, we recorded impressive results. Fully immunized children were far above 90%, at 97%." 

That figure, 97% in a county where myths about infertility circulate freely, demonstrates what a well-resourced frontline can achieve. It did not happen by accident. Kilifi invested in community health infrastructure, coordinated with civil society partners and maintained political commitment at the county level. 

The county has also embraced policy shifts that expand protection. Dr. Hassan Leli, Director of Health and Sanitation Services in Kilifi, noted a critical change in the HPV vaccination program, which protects girls against cervical cancer. "One major shift has been policy change. We used to do two HPV doses, but now we're doing one dose." Fewer doses mean simpler logistics and broader reach. 

Scaling the frontline through advocacy 

The Health NGOs Network (HENNET), with technical support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) and funding from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has worked to replicate what counties like Kilifi prove is possible. HENNET's community of practice now connects 128 active civil society organizations, community groups and media participants who coordinate advocacy from national budget hearings to village-level dialogues. 

HENNET also identified high-prevalence zero-dose areas in Nairobi County and trained 32 immunization champions from eight counties, equipping them to participate in budgeting processes where immunization allocations are decided. In 2025 alone, the network generated over 400 media outputs, maintaining pressure that reinforced parliamentary advocacy and helped reverse vaccine stockouts across 12 counties. 

The gatekeeper's reward 

For Mwanamkasi Hassan, the work is measured in conversations, not spreadsheets. Each mother who changes her mind, each child who receives a dose, each myth that loses its grip represents a small victory won through trust. 

Kenya's immunization coverage depends on thousands of community health workers like Mwanamkasi, Sarah and Merceline. They are the human bridge between government’s resource mobilization and a child's arm. When they are supported with training, data and a system that keeps vaccines on the shelf, they deliver results. Kilifi's 97% immunization rates prove it. 

The question for Kenya is whether the rest of the country will invest in that bridge with the same conviction these women bring to their work every morning. As Gavi rolls out its sixth multi-year program, known as Gavi 6.0, HENNET, with GHAI’s technical support, wants to keep working to make this possible.