Walking tall: Rahab Wambui's journey as a polio champion

Rahab Wambui keeps the spark of hope alive and smiles like a ray of sunshine, hoping that polio will be eradicated one day during her lifetime. Resilient and focused, she passionately serves as a polio champion in Kiambu County.

Her personal story as a polio survivor and now a polio champion fuels her dedication to spreading public health messages. During immunization campaigns, she encourages parents and guardians to take their children under five years old for life-saving vaccines and complete the routine immunization schedule. 

Low routine immunization coverage in some sub-counties in Kenya means that many children within the community have yet to complete the routine immunization schedule, exposing children to vaccine-preventable diseases. So far, Kenya has confirmed 14 polio cases since its first case on July 11, 2023.

Ten high-risk counties were identified in accordance with the WHO outbreak assessment, and three (3) polio campaigns were conducted between August 2023 and January 2024.  

The first round conducted in August 2023 targeted four high-risk counties: Garissa, Wajir, Nairobi, and Kiambu. The second round, conducted from 7th to 11th November 2023, targeted ten high-risk counties: Kajiado, Lamu, Tana River, Machakos, Kitui, and Mandera, as well as the previous four counties. A third round was done in two parts from 11th to 15th November 2023, which covered Kajiado, Lamu, Tana River, Machakos, Kitui, and Nairobi. Owing to flooding from heavy rains, the second part of the third vaccination round were done in Garissa, Mandera and Wajir in January 2024.

With support from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and Rotary, the Ministry of Health vaccinated 1,960,748 and 3,490,231 children in rounds 1 and 2, respectively. In round 3, 1,018,466 children were reached. This was made possible by the joint efforts of the Ministry of Health, GPEI partners, and community champions like Rahab.   

Rahab is one of 47 county polio champions who volunteered to mobilize communities, especially hesitant groups, during the immunization campaigns in Kenya led by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with partners such as the WHO and UNICEF. Born and raised in Gatundu in Kiambu County, she shares her story, experience, and journey with the hope of changing the trend to halt polio infections in Kenya and the Horn of Africa.

“I walked at an early age at seven months. According to my mother, however,  I developed a fever and weakness in my legs when I was almost two years old. Doctors confirmed that I had been infected with the polio virus,” said Rahab.

Polio denied her a chance to play actively with her peers in the village playground, but her assertive, vocal, and socializing character nurtured her spirit for community work.

Her mother’s journey from one hospital to another eventually led her to the Kenyatta National Hospital, where she underwent physiotherapy sessions and surgeries.

Today, Rahab limps and walks with the aid of a stick.

“I regained some functionality in my legs, but not entirely. Polio robbed me of a playful childhood,” Rahab says.

Her health condition also brought family strife, and the family ended up homeless, but later, they secured accommodation, meals, and an academic scholarship from missionaries.

“It felt like my health condition brought instability and shame to my family. But despite the challenges, my mother never abandoned me and our siblings. She encouraged us every day that brighter days lay ahead,” she says.

Rahab went to Joytown boarding school relatively early in Thika and later studied for a diploma in electronics at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK). Besides being a polio advocate, Rahab is a budget trainer at International Budget Partnership, teaching individuals about making intelligent investment decisions.

This compliments her additional training in Community Engagement at Kenyatta University, where she studied Sociology and Community Development. 

She lives at home in Gatundu with her mother, and they have an inseparable bond.

“My mother has always been by my side. Today, she is my priority in her golden years. Every day, we share meals and laugh until the cows come home,” Rahab says.

She shares advice with parents of differently-abled children.

“A child is a blessing. Love them unconditionally. Every child is an angel given to us by God so let’s take care of them, “ Rahab says.

Rahab says that being a polio advocate is closely tied to her passion.

“This is my path. Looking back at the number of children we have reached with the polio vaccination campaigns, I realize that I couldn’t have taken any other direction,” she says, adding that she is eager to do more for children.

According to the WHO, polio is a highly infectious viral disease primarily affecting children under five. The virus is transmitted person-to-person, mainly through the fecal-oral route or less frequently, through contaminated water or food. It multiplies in the intestine, which can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. It has no known cure but can be prevented by an oral vaccine.

Unicef Kenya’s Social and Behaviour Change officer Ayub Duale says, “Unicef supports the Ministry of Health and works closely with other partners to achieve and sustain a polio-free Kenya with vaccination as one of the core eradication strategies.”

“Polio is a highly infectious disease. We will knock on every door until we reach every child and protect them from polio through the vaccine. The health teams will be moving door to door vaccinating all eligible children,” he adds.

“As a champion, I am optimistic that in my lifetime, we will eradicate polio globally. We should promise all children that we will win against polio. I will continue advocating for routine immunization for children in Kenya and the world. All children deserve to live happily and enjoy their childhood free from polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases,” Rahab concluded. 

She confirms that although it is almost two decades after her first door-to-door polio campaign, there is still a flame in her soul, always burning, always ready to see the end of polio in her lifetime.