In the maternity ward at Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi, health workers and Rotary volunteers marked World Polio Day by vaccinating babies and urging mothers to protect their children against a disease that can cause permanent paralysis.

Many mothers have never seen a child lose the ability to walk because of polio. For more than three decades, vaccination has helped protect generations of children from the crippling disease, making it less visible in everyday life. But health workers warn that this success could lead to complacency, as parents who have never witnessed polio's devastating effects begin to question why their children still need vaccination.

Otieno said vaccination remains essential even for children born into a world where polio is rarely seen, warning that parents should not mistake the disease's declining visibility for the disappearance of the threat.