News Categories: Health and Sanitation

The Chief Officers for Medical Services Dr Paul Lagat and Preventive and Promotive Services counterpart Sally Kemboi handed over their roles as Chief Officers.

They handed over their dockets to the Director Administration, Finance and Planning Fredrick Kiptum.

The CEC for Health and Sanitation Ruth Koech presided over the ceremony congratulating the two Chief Officers for their support in transforming the health sector.

The Chief Officers highlighted the progress made in the Health sector during their tenure and key areas of attention that need close follow up for their effective and timely delivery.

County Public Health Officer Alfred Bichii has urged the residents of Nandi to maintain high standards of cleanliness to avoid being infected with water-borne diseases.

He urged the public to keep their surroundings clean and regularly wash their hands with soap and water or use hand sanitisers.

He noted that most people do not boil water from the river or wells to kill disease-causing germs, which leads to incidences of typhoid, cholera, skin rashes and other waterborne diseases.

Bichii said most diseases can be prevented by boiling water before drinking and maintaining high hand hygiene by washing hands with soap and clean running water for at least 20 seconds as the most effective way of killing germs

He lamented that most of the Nandi residents have since lowered their guard on maintaining hand hygiene over the declining rate of Covid-19.

“Despite containing the spread of Covid-19, there are still more severe diseases that are on the loose and which can be risky if hands are not properly washed,” he said.

Bichii was speaking during a WASH training for Public Health Officers drawn from Emgwen Sub County that was organized by Aqua Clara Kenya which has partnered with the county on WASH programs and is putting up its product distribution office at Namgoi junction.

Aqua Clara Kenya partners with County Governments in Kenya and trains their Community Health Workers (CHWs), supporting them to form and facilitate WASHiriki Clubs. Each Club has 15-30 members, with 70% of members typically women.

Hearing loss can affect a child’s ability to develop speech, language, and social skills. The earlier a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing starts getting services, the more likely the child’s speech, language, and social skills will reach their full potential.

Early interventions help young children with hearing loss learn language skills and other important skills

Early identification through screening and integration of primary ear care will enhance the prevention of hearing loss in primary health care settings.

The County Government of Nandi last month signed an MoU with Children’s Speech and Hearing Loss Organization (CHISHLO) to provide support services to families and children with hearing and speech challenges in Nandi County.

To further expand the partnership, the CECM for Health and Sanitation Mrs. Ruth Koech today hosted a delegation of Officials from Children’s Speech and Hearing Loss Organization (CHISHLO).and Latter Day Saints Charities, USA. The organizations were represented by Mr. Stephen Kittur and Elder & Sister Bell who discussed options for expanding the current hearing screening to include a Diagnostic and Evaluation Center in the County.

The County Government of Nandi is committed to delivering a full programme of support for children with hearing loss. The programme includes universal newborn hearing screening for the earliest possible identification of newborns with hearing loss.

“The Governor Sang-led government is committed to ensuring that children who are detected through the screening programme as having serious hearing impairments receive the extra support they need to build solid foundations for early learning,” said Ruth Koech, the CEC Member for Health and Sanitation.

Mr. Kittur thanked Nandi County for the great support it has provided the screening project and pledged their commitment as partners to making the County a great model in early interventions.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer.

County Oncologist Patrick Kenei says early detection saves lives and notes men should be screened too.

“We can do better certainly in terms of survivability rates. We can do better by contributing more by coming together and saying this matters. It’s impacting all of us,” Kenei said.

It is therefore a concern to us all as we are equally at risk of contracting the disease.

Kenei termed Breast cancer as the most common type of cancer in the county and Kenya and called for early screening for early detection and treatment.

To mark the breast cancer awareness month the County Government of Nandi in collaboration with the International Cancer Institute (ICI) and Be Me Foundation will offer free Breast and Cervical Cancer screening at Meteitei Sub County Hospital in Tinderet on Friday, October 21, 2022.

Over 800 eye patients from across Nandi County received free treatment during the World Eye Sight Day commemoration organized by the County Government of Nandi in collaboration with Operation Eyesight Universal.

The residents received free eye checkups, medicines and cataract surgeries during the three day event at Kaptumo Sub County Hospital in Aldai Sub County.

Florah Kiplagat a cataract surgeon based at the Kapsabet County Referral Hospital said the check-up was aimed at reaching out to residents with eye problems who do not visit hospitals due to poverty and for fear of cost implications, to ensure they live a healthy life.

“We saw it wise to commemorate this year’s World Sight Day at Kaptumo Sub County Hospital to alleviate the burden that our people go through while seeking eye treatment and as we unveil our Ophthalmology officer who will be stationed at the facility,” she said.

Mzee Paul Kosgei whose eyes itch when it is sunny, is among those who benefited from the free treatment.

“I would not have known it was an allergy had I not visited the free eye check up. Our people should not assume anything but take advantage of such free check-ups,” she said.

Nancy Kilach who is among the patients that were operated appreciated efforts by the County Government of Nandi to provide eye care services.

“Am very hopeful that i’ll be able to see clearly and undertake my normal duties without support from other people after the surgery” she said, disclosing that as an ICT Officer it was a difficult task for her to work based on the eye problem.

Residents aged between 40 and 50 years were advised to seek regular check-ups to ensure any detectable complication is treated as early as possible.

Florah Kiplagat said the programme will be undertaken through outreaches to ensure as many residents as possible benefit.

It is estimated that 250,000 people in Kenya are blind with another 750,000 suffering low vision, putting the prevalence of blindness in the country at 0.7%. Cataract is the leading cause of blindness accounting for 43% of the total cases. Trachoma is second accounting for 19% followed by glaucoma and childhood blindness accounting for 9% and 6% respectively.

According to the National Strategic Plan for Eye Health and Blindness Prevention 2012-2018 prepared by the Ministry of Health, over 80% of the cases are due to curable and preventable causes. Lack of access to treatment means that many Kenyans continue to suffer in silence especially in the rural areas where health services are inadequate or inaccessible.

Hundreds of Nandi residents with eye complications flocked Kaptumo Sub County Hospital in Aldai to receive free eye check ups and treatment.

The free exercise was organized by the County Government of Nandi in partnership with Operation Eyesight Universal in commemoration of the World Sight Day (WSD) with the theme: “Love Your Eyes.”

World Sight Day is an important day in the eye health calendar. It is an annual awareness day that is observed on the second Thursday of October every year.

World Sight Day aims to focus global attention on blindness, vision impairment and eye care.

Florah Kiplagat, the County Ophthalmic Clinical Officer and Cataract Surgeon based at the Kapsabet County Referral Hospital said that the overwhelming turn up is an indication that many people in the county suffer from eye diseases. She revealed that the majority of the patients they have registered have cataracts.

Florah said cataracts develop when the metabolism of the body changes, causing the lenses of the eyes to lose transparency. She explained that although the primary cause of cataracts is old age, the problem is more common than any other eye defect because it is caused by many factors such as unregulated use of drugs, accidents, diabetes, and diseases that cause dehydration among others.

She said 20 per cent of those who attended the free clinic had very severe allergies and were receiving their treatment for the first time.

Florah also noted that most of the elderly who visited the free clinic were detected with eye cataracts and needed operation were booked for the same at the facility tomorrow.

Another percentage, she said, had refractive errors and needed glasses as the Hospital monitors their progress.

At the same time, some people, especially the elderly were detected with problems with their Latinas, because of issues of diabetes and high blood pressure.

She said the massive turnout at the event demonstrates the need to visit more remote areas of the county.

“It is always rewarding to see eye patients able to see again after being blind for many years, we need to organize camps in more villages,” she said.

She advised the residents of Nandi to go for frequent eye clinics as part of ensuring that their health is maintained and monitored properly.

#LoveYourEyes

Nandi County will join the rest of world tomorrow in marking the World Sight Day (WSD). A day that promotes advocacy to highlight the fact, that at least one billion people globally have a vision impairment that could have been prevented or has yet to be addressed.

WSD became an official event in 2000 of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and is held annually on the second Thursday of October to provide a platform for organisations to encourage governments, corporations, institutions and individuals to actively support universal access to eye health.

Tomorrow, October 13, the County Government of Nandi is joining the rest of the world to observe WSD under the theme: “Love Your Eyes” with the call to action of “Everyone Counts”. #LoveYourEyes

The event will be held at Kaptumo Sub County Hospital, Kaptumo/Kaboi Ward in Aldai Sub County.

Despite the knowledge that nearly everyone will experience an eye health issues in their lifetime, many people do not have access to eye care services. Hence, there is need for all of us to become aware of our own eye health, so that we can get our eyes tested for hidden diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Our eyes tell us so much about our general health and hence, we need to develop the habit of having them checked by trained eye care professionals.

Everyone Counts is the call to action that we should take personal care and interest in ensuring our eyes are healthy. Make that pledge to ensure that you get involved in your eye health by getting your eyes screened. To ensure that Everyone Counts, we should reach out to all, especially those who are vulnerable to eye diseases. We also need to include everyone around us, including members of our families especially the elderly, persons with diabetes, underserved communities, women and children.

Since taking over in 2017, Governor Stephen Sang placed high priority on Health as a thematic area of focus knowing fully well that a healthy population is a wealthy population. In the last 5years, there has been tremendous increase in Health Financing Fiscal Space and the County has witnessed huge investments on Health infrastructure as well as Health work force, Capacity building to improve service delivery, Procurement and distribution of essential medicines, Electronic data capturing and tracking system to improve on Health Management Information System.

While giving his address at the opening session of the Third Nandi County Assembly, Governor Stephen Sang has vowed to enhance health services and ensure proper functionality of all public healthcare facilities in the County.

Some of the key achievements in the health sector include the increase in the budgetary allocation for healthcare from 22% to 38% of our annual budget.

Governor Sang’s administration has also renovated, constructed, equipped, operationalized and upgraded a significant number of health facilities across the county and further increased the number of health care providers and workers across the sector.

To avert frequent strikes, the county secured a binding engagement with healthcare workers on improvement of their terms of service and working conditions through implementation of an international exchange program, promotions and reassignment of jobs.

To reduce maternal and infant mortalities, Governor Sang’s administration constructed new maternity wings and upgraded the existing ones. This has significantly increased access to skilled birth attendance and reduced mortality rate from 71 per 100,000 births in 2017 to 34 per 100,000 births in 2022.

Highlighting his development agenda to the assembly; the county boss said that his administration has increased the number of theaters in the County thus ensuring patient referrals outside the county and the cost of medical care has significantly decreased. The county government has also acquired new ambulances to address the challenges experienced in patient management and referral services.

The Governor highlighted the upgrade and expansion of facilities and services at Kapsabet County Referral Hospital to meet the ever increasing demands for health services by residents with establishment of an oxygen plant, a variety of diagnostic services, renal services, as well as a modern maternity with additional theatres, radiology services that include CT scan and X-Rays, endoscopy and ICU services.

Several standby power generators have been installed in major health facilities across the county to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

The Governor also announced plans to recruit more specialists to boost health service delivery in the county adding that the health sector is the most vital aspect of life which his administration will focus more on.

Governor Sang reiterated his plans to upgrade sub-county hospitals and establishment of adequate number of maternity facilities by expanding and upgrading existing health facilities and developing new health facilities with maternal services.

The Governor lauded healthcare workers for their efforts despite challenges they had to face while administering services to patients.

“I want to thank all the healthcare workers who have been working so hard to ensure that our people receive medical attention despite numerous challenges,” he said.

Residents of Nandi County joined the global community in commemorating the World Contraception Day (WCD) that is celebrated annually on 26th September. The day is dedicated to increasing awareness of contraceptives and prioritizing the distribution and accessibility of information regarding sexual and reproductive health.

The commemoration was held at the Kapsabet County Referral Hospital with the theme “Breaking Myths” and was presided over by the County Reproductive Health Coordinator Irine Berenge who urged all pregnant mothers to attend antenatal care services available in all healthcare facilities in the county so as to reduce maternal deaths in Nandi County as well as eliminating complications related to the same.

The County Government of Nandi is working to increase awareness on the access to family planning services on the adolescents and the youth, while also striving to reduce sexual gender-based violence in the County.

DSW Youth Champion Mary Wambui called for the mentoring of healthcare workers in order for them to have the right attitude towards youths. She said the attitude will allow patients to freely walk into health facilities and access services to avoid repercussions of unsafe abortion attempts, honestly and openly discuss their reproductive issues, and avoid over the counter purchase of FP services without thorough check ups.

By allowing women to choose whether, when and how many children to have helps to end poverty cycles and helps in progressing sustainable and thriving development goals.

Male involvement was also advocated for in family planning because it is a strategy for addressing pressing world reproductive health problems. Men can assist in preventing early and unintended pregnancies, as well as foster safe motherhood and practice responsible fatherhood. This helps both parents plan their families in accordance with their needs and resources.

The partners who supported the event were Marie Stopes International and DSW.

Also present were the Nandi County Nursing Officer Laban Talam, Health Advocacy Officer Jane Samoei among other officials.

The County Government of Nandi has signed an MoU with Project ECHO – Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNMHSC) to provide universal healthcare in the county.

The collaboration is envisaged to support various health department programs and hospitals within the county’s health sector.

The partnership will be instrumental in utilizing the ECHO Model for continuous capacity building of healthcare providers at all levels of healthcare system which includes specialists, doctors, paramedical professionals, mid-level health providers and frontline workers.

The County Government of Nandi and Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) partnership aims to improve access to care for rural and traditionally under-served patients by training health professionals in high quality, evidence based treatment of complex diseases.

Clinicians based in rural and under-served communities participate in tele – ECHO ‘clinics’ through a Hub and Spoke model.

This model also offers an opportunity for reviewing programs, capacity building of staff and dissemination of programmatic updates.

Project ECHO is a collaborative model of medical education and care management that empowers clinicians to provide better care to more people right where they live.

The Department of Health core mandate is to ensure availability of equitable, affordable and good quality healthcare services to the masses.

At the centre of Governor Sang’s efforts is a strong primary healthcare system with major focus on preventive and promotive healthcare services to Nandi residents.

The documents were signed by County Secretary Dr Francis Sang MBS and witnessed by the Director Administration, Finance and Planning Fredrick Kiptum and Kapsabet County Referral Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Daniel Kemboi.