News Categories: Health and Sanitation

Malaria in pregnancy is a significant cause of severe maternal anaemia, low-birth-weight babies, premature delivery, miscarriage and stillbirth. These complications are devastating, and leave a bitter taste: family tragedies that should have been prevented.

Pregnant women, babies, the under-fives and those with HIV/AIDS are particularly vulnerable to infection from the mosquito-born parasite which causes malaria, and suffer more severely than the general population.

Amref Health Africa, Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) in partnership with the County Government of Nandi, conducted its annual meeting with Community Health Promoters and Community Health Assistants drawn from Tinderet Sub County. The event provided an opportunity to engage health teams and partners to reflect on GFNFM3 Malaria in Pregnancy interventions implementation so far, to review performance of MIP interventions of GFNM3 Malaria Program and to chart the way forward and harmonize implementation of the Malaria In Pregnancy activities for enhanced MIP indicators and quality implementationfor optimal impact.

Prevention of malaria during pregnancy is critical to maternal and child survival. Quality treatment and prevention is essential to protect both mother and child.

Effective surveillance is the only way to ensure treatment and eventual eradication of malaria, and County Disease Surveillance Coordinator Japhet Rutto called for an aggressive new approach against the disease.

The County Department of Health reaffirms their commitment to ensuring people living in malaria-risk areas are using appropriate malaria preventive interventions and are treated.

Health Promotion aims to create a healthy school environment by promoting the general health and wellbeing of learners and educators, and by addressing key health and social barriers to learning in order to promote effective teaching and learning.

Schools play a very significant role in imparting the well-being of the students and individuals. A supportive and understanding ecosystem fosters self-confidence, encourages self-expression, and imbues a sense of belonging in learners.

Teachers and school staff are on the frontlines, interacting with students daily. They are often the first to notice changes in a student’s behavior, mood, or academic performance, hence it is essential that the support staff handle children with equality and effectively. By training educators to recognize the signs of health distress and providing them with knowledge on how to address and refer to these issues, schools can take a proactive stance in safeguarding their students’ well-being.

Today, the County Health promotion team held a sensitization meeting held at Kabiyet Boys on matters mental health, gender based violence and reproductive health with School Principals drawn from across Mosop Sub County.

This holistic approach ensures that the positive effects of education permeate throughout the entire educational ecosystem. A supportive and understanding ecosystem can foster self-confidence, encourage self-expression, and imbue a sense of belonging.

The School heads were urged to spearhead the crucial mission of Mental Wellness. Mental health is as crucial as physical health, if not more, especially during the formative years of a child’s life. Schools, being the second home for many students, have a pivotal role in shaping and nurturing their mental well-being.

Schools must prioritize creating safe spaces where students can express their concerns, fears, and anxieties without judgment. This could be in the form of dedicated counseling rooms, peer-led support groups, or open forums. The mere presence of such spaces can be reassuring to students, knowing they have a place to turn to when needed. Enabling a safe learning environment helps in regulating social, and emotional skills and capabilities that promote life-long mental health, and problem-solving skills that help in creating a sense of autonomy and purpose.

Present during the meeting was the County School Health Coordinator Mr Koech, GBV Coordinator Abigael Jepkoech and Mental Health Coordinator Mr Tiparo, Nandi County Director of Education Harrison MuriukiMuriuki and Kabiyet Boys Senior Principal Mr Mudogo.

The construction of an out- patient block at Chepnyogoson Dispensary in Kurgung/Surungai Ward, Mosop Sub County is nearing completion.

The Chief Officer for Health and Sanitation Fredrick Kiptum says the project is a clear indicator of Governor Sang administration’s commitment towards transformation of healthcare and ensuring accessibility for residents.

“The construction of the new out-patient block at Chepnyogoson Dispensary is progressing well. The project signifies our commitment to transforming healthcare accessibility for our residents,” he said.

It will be recalled that during his campaigns, Governor Stephen Sang vowed to ensure better healthcare system.

Medical oxygen is an indispensable element of the health system, vital for treating a wide range of medical conditions and foundational for establishing a respiratory care program. Recognizing its critical importance, the County Government of Nandi embarked on a transformative journey to strengthen the county’s health infrastructure by enhancing the capacity of the health workforce and bolstering the oxygen ecosystem which has yielded remarkable results ultimately ensuring that oxygen therapy is administered efficiently and effectively in both Kapsabet County Referral and Nandi Hills County Hospitals.

The basic aim behind establishing PSA Oxygen Generation Plants at Government hospitals is to further strengthen the public health system and ensure that each of these hospitals has a captive oxygen generation facility. Such an in-house captive oxygen generation facilities would address the day to day medical oxygen needs of these hospitals and the county at large.

The active involvement and ownership demonstrated by the County Government of Nandi has undoubtedly contributed to the project’s remarkable achievements. By prioritizing capacity-building and fostering a conducive environment for collaboration, the county has played a pivotal role in enhancing oxygen management capacities and ultimately, improving health outcomes for the people of Nandi.

The County Government of Nandi continues to strengthen the oxygen eco-system by supporting the implementation of establishment of oxygen sites in Kabiyet, Mosoriot, Meteitei, Kaptumo Sub County Hospitals. Plans are also underway for Serem and Kemeloi Health Center projects. In partnership with JHPIEGO, the county has offered technical assistance on oxygen use, and through training of health professionals in evidence-use of oxygen.

JHPIEGO and the County Department of Health have been collaborating to ensure the long-term sustainability of new medical oxygen equipment.

In a collaborative effort, JHPIEGO organized an oxygen plants sustainability sensitization meeting today to share best practices, lessons learned, and expert insights for a strong oxygen ecosystem in Nandi.

Speaking at the meeting,the Chief Officer for Health and Sanitation Fredrick Kiptum said that “Elevating healthcare calls for a proactive, comprehensive approach to managing medical oxygen equipment, involving collaboration, substantial investments, and a focus on the entire equipment lifecycle for lasting impact and sustainability. This requires a change of mindset from simply procuring equipment to managing it over its life cycle.”

Also Present at the meeting were County Director for Health Dr David Bungei, County Health Management Team among other senior health officials.

Today the Department of Health and that of Social Welfare in partnership with JHPIEGO and HJFMRI-Walter Reed spearheaded a meeting for Combating Gender-Based Violence – a critical step towards comprehensively eradicating GBV in Nandi.

Key stakeholders from national and regional levels, including representatives from government agencies, civil society organisations, academia, media, and the private sector, all attended the meeting.

The meeting engaged participants to Combating Gender Based Violence, sharing data and trends in the uptake of GBV services among key stakeholders, discuss barriers to attainment of respective targets, increase GBV case identification, develop actionable remediation plans and areas of synergies and collaboration. Furthermore, it encouraged the exchange of information and best practices in GBV prevention and response, with an emphasis on the implementation of cross-sectoral programs and policies related to GBV prevention and response.

Focusing on preventing GBV and safeguarding the rights of women and girls, Combating Gender Based Violence (GBV) meeting (s) seeks to enhance coordination and service provision mechanisms. Additionally, it aims to engage communities in preventing and responding to GBV while improving data systems to inform evidence-based policies and programming.

Speaking during the meeting, Nandi County GBV Coordinator Abigael Jepkoech said that GBV is not only a violation of human rights but also a barrier to achieving sustainable development and gender equality. Through investing in prevention, response, and mitigation, we uphold survivors’ rights and foster inclusive societies, requiring collective action and sustained commitment.

The meeting also identified ways to improve sustainability across government, society, and systems. This includes enhancing sub county coordination and accountability mechanisms and strengthening institutional systems to ensure effective and coordinated GBV work continues.

Abigael Jepkoech, County GBV Coordinator

The persons present were George Ondonga – County Director for State Department of Gender, Dominic Tullo Director for Gender and Social Welfare Nandi County, Nandi Central Assistant County Commissioner, HJFMRI-Walter Reed led by GBV Coordinator John Mokaya.

A new dispensary is under construction in Cheptonon, Songhor/Soba Ward in Tindiret Sub County.

The emerging health care facility is designed to provide healthcare closer to where patients live and, possibly, relieve stress on major hospitals.

The project promises significant benefits to the community.

The project has made significant progress and once complete will complement and expand the facility’s services, ensuring enhanced healthcare access for the community.

This initiative aligns with Governor Stephen Sang’s steadfast commitment to enhancing healthcare infrastructure across the county, ensuring that residents receive the quality care they deserve.

The theme for this year’s International Nurses’ and Midwives’ Week is “Our Nurses, Our Future: The Economic Power of Care”. The commemoration saw all the 47 Counties converge at Transzoia County to celebrate the significant contributions of nurses and midwives to the healthcare sector and the economy.

Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya led the commemoration of the Nurses Week, at the Kitale Showground. Flagging off the day with a 10 km walk in Kitale town and the celebrations done at Kitale Showground.

Natembeya while addressing the nurses, emphasized that the role of nurses extends beyond the bedside, making them catalysts for economic growth. He also urged the recognition of care as a crucial factor achieving universal healthcare.

The nurses addressed the challenges they face including physical and mental health strains.

The Director Nurses Services, Judith Awinja urged the nursing fraternity to seek necessary assistance, emphasizing the importance of their well-being in providing service to others. “We should strive to recognize the role that the nurses take in supporting others to remain physically, mentally and economically active.” She added.

The President National Nurses Association Council, Collins Ojwang reiterated that a healthy nation is a happier, more productive nation; and the roles that the nurses play in our health care centers across the country is immensely valuable.

Joyce Achieng’ a nurse from Migori County said, “We should change the system, one nurse at a time. Because when nurses are heard, healthcare improves. We hope that in the future we will achieve a ratio of 1 nurse to 6 patients .”

As the country pushes to improve and strengthen primary healthcare as the backbone of Universal Health Care (UHC) it has assured the nurses of their unwavering support going forward. Kenya Progressive Nurses Association (KPNA), President Michael Nyongesa said their contribution should not be ignored in the realization of UHC given their knowledge, competence and expertise as well as leadership. “The involvement of nurses in achieving UHC will be successful considering they have been trained on community health and as such primary healthcare,” Nyongesa said.

Natembeya said the devolving of healthcare to counties has weakened healthcare delivery as the majority of counties lack resources and capacity to handle the sector.

“As the Council of Governors we are currently addressing the issue of shortage of nurses and are looking forward to increasing the numbers to enhance service delivery.

We will be having open discussions with the workers across the sector leaving no one sidelined” He added.

The event was well attended by Nursing Council of Kenya, National Nurses Association of Kenya, development partners including Madison Insurance ,MTRH and Equity Afia and other stakeholders.

Residents of Nandi county will continue accessing quality healthcare services after the county department of health received both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical supplies worth Sh47 million from the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency.

The supplies have been directly dispatched to various hospitals and dispensaries, making it a boost in service delivery.

The County Pharmacist Dr Andrew Kisang acknowledged the supply.

The Chief Officer for Health Fredrick Kiptum maintained that Governor Sang-led administration is putting the health of his people at the forefront.

“The health of our people is a top priority for us. The county Governor is investing more resources in the department to ensure people get quality health services whenever they visit our health facilities across the county,” said Kiptum.

“The received and distributed consignment of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products from KEMSA will cater to the health needs of our facilities for the next four months,” he added.

The Chief Officer assured that the county government under the leadership of H.E Governor Stephen Sang will continue to enhance service delivery and ensure a timely supply of drugs to all health facilities at the ward level.

Immunization remains one of the most cost effective tools to preventing and controlling diseases, disabilities and deaths. The Immunization Week theme for 2024 being; Humanly Possible: Immunization for All.

The Department of Health and Sanitation commemorated the week with a week-long build up activities which included stake-holders meetings, acceleration of the HPV vaccines through outreaches, media engagements, training different cadres of health workers including nurses, public health officers and community health promoters.

Jane Samoei, County Health Promotion Coordinator

The Immunisation Week climaxed celebrations held at Kabiyet Sub County Hospital with activites including children immunizations, vaccination of girls between the ages of 10-14 with HPV Vaccine and advocacy.

Speaking at the event, Jane Samoei, the County Health Promotion Coordinator appealed to the netizens to do the right thing by knowing their children’s vaccination schedules, encouraging them and their families to ensure they are fully immunized and ignore the misinformation that vaccines are unsafe as they are the cheapest and most effective public health interventions that exist.

The Ministry of Health continues to cushion the public from diseases by introducing new vaccines into its national immunization schedule. Recently, the ministry has introduced; pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV), rotavirus vaccines, malaria vaccines, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines. Susan Biwott,the EPI Coordinator urged the residents especially mothers to follow up and make sure they complete their children’s immunization doses as recommended. She implored with them to get the vaccines from all public health facilities around them.

On his part, Laban Talam the County Reproductive Health Coordinator also advised the residents that the vaccines are safe and effective, demistifying the myths around it. “Immunisation will save your family time and money. It will also protect your future generations by saving lives.” He added.

Nandi County has made great strides in its vaccination efforts hence posting good indicators. The department continues to partner with organizations including KANCO and GAVI in supporting development and implementation of the goal to provide universal access to lifesaving vaccines for the children countywide. The collaborations will therefore build capacity to detect and respond to vaccine-preventable disease threats. Every child deserves access to lifesaving vaccines that can protect them against illness, disability, and death. Vaccines make it humanly possible to eradicate disease.

Immunization programs are the most essential instruments and achievements in public health, clubbed together with better healthcare access in their importance for longer lifespans and reduced mortality rates.

Training healthcare staff is crucial in improving the performance of immunization programs. This builds core competencies, including professional attitudes, required vaccine administration skills, and documentation skills.

In addition, it ensures a trained workforce that implements vaccine-related programs and policies. It also builds healthcare capacity to meet immunization needs at all levels, minimize attrition, and optimize outcomes.

The Department of Health and Sanitation held a two-day’s immunization training for immunization staff, public health officers and CHPs from across the entire county to enable them to identify access and utilization barriers, pinpoint priority areas and associated health centers, and form a roadmap to ensure expanded coverage in the county.

Training non-medical immunization staff such as CHPs is vital to ensure best practices are followed. Infants need to be assessed before vaccination.

Community engagement is key to the success of any immunization program. This includes education about the need for and benefits of vaccines, as well as their safety. This is essential to dispel misconceptions, reduce resistance, and improve vaccine coverage.

According to the County EPI Coordinator Susan Biwott, “Training and capacity building for immunization staff is one of the most important factors in enhancing immunization performance and effectively introducing new vaccines, technologies, practices and policies.”

“We save children’s lives through vaccination; we protect them from deadly diseases and raise caregivers’ awareness about routine vaccinations,” Mulahi an immunization officer emphasizes.

“These new skills will improve the quality of work and help us provide better immunization services.” Jeokemboi, an immunization officer.

With support from generous partners such as JHPIEGO works to improve immunization programmes and the provision of health care services through various activities, including training health workers.