State warns health facilities against charging for HPV, other State-funded vaccines

The government has issued a stern warning to private and public health facilities against charging for vaccines supplied through national immunisation programmes, saying such fees are illegal and exploitative.

Health CS Aden Duale said that government-provided vaccines, including the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, must be administered free of charge.

Facilities have also been ordered to prominently display service charters indicating which services are free to ensure transparency and prevent patients from being misled.

The warning follows rising complaints from parents and guardians alleging that some facilities have been demanding payment for HPV vaccination, despite the vaccine being offered at no cost through the national immunisation schedule.

Duale said that Kenya is intensifying its HPV vaccination programme, describing it as the most powerful tool in the fight against preventable diseases.

In November 2025, the government made a strategic, evidence-based transition from a two-dose to a single-dose HPV vaccination schedule.

CS Duale said the shift allows the country to reach more girls, reduce missed opportunities, and accelerate Kenya’s progress.

The Health CS also reiterated that the HPV vaccine is offered free of charge to all girls aged 10 to 14 years at public health facilities nationwide.

“Our first pillar is HPV vaccination, the most powerful tool in our arsenal because it's very critical. And in November of 2025, Kenya made a very strategic transition from a two-dose to a single-dose HPV vaccination schedule. This is an evidence-based shift. It allows us to reach more girls, reduce missed opportunities, and accelerate our progress,” Duale said.

“I wish to state it clearly that the HPV vaccine is offered free of charge to all 10 to 14-year-old girls at our public health facility nationwide. That's, I think, something people don't know.”

However, CS Duale raised concerns that some facilities, including public ones, have been charging for vaccines that are meant to be free.

He announced that all public, private, and faith-based health facilities will now be required to display a charter showing services that are free to the public.

“Our public health facilities, or PHC, which are free, paid by the exchequer, we have a situation where facilities are charging even for vaccination, which is supposed to be free. And yesterday we had a meeting. We are going to create and make it mandatory in all our facilities, public, private, and faith-based, that there must be a charter displayed in all those facilities,” he said.

“That the citizens can see that the following items are free and nobody should co-charge them. How do you charge for vaccinations? Not only cervical vaccinations, all vaccinations. I have made it very clear, even I went to the National Treasury when I became the Minister for Health.”

To ensure consistent vaccine availability, CS Duale confirmed that government funds for vaccinations are ring-fenced and protected from budget reallocations.

“What is budgeted for in a financial year will be there because we need to protect vaccines and our citizens, particularly young people, from preventable diseases,” he said.

The move aligns with Kenya’s ongoing efforts to expand access to essential healthcare and reduce the incidence of cervical cancer among young girls.