News Categories: Health and Sanitation

Late detection and referrals have been cited as some of the causes leading to early deaths among cancer patients in Nandi County.

Speaking during a medical cancer screening camp organized by the county department of health and sanitation in partnership with Apollo Hospitals, India, Dr. Kenei an Oncologist at the Kapsabet County Referral Hospital, cited stomach, esophageal, and breast, cervical and prostate cancers as leading in the region.

“Cancer is treatable when identified at its initial stages. Most patients succumb because they show up when the disease reached unmanageable levels,” he stated.

He advised members of the public to ensure they take early initiatives to know their cancer status to make it cheaper to manage the disease.

“Cancer is a disease that affects all parts of the body apart from the hair and teeth,” said Dr. Kenei.

Dr. Stanley Kiptanui who accompanied Dr. Kenei appealed to all well-wishers to join hands in supporting cancer treatment and awareness initiatives. He noted that there was need for equipping all health facilities in the county with cancer screening apparatus to benefit everyone.

Dr. Kenei added that the county was studying on the main causes of cancer within the county so as to employ safety measures to control its prevalence.

A cancer survivor, Ms. Jane Koech described how she had lived with the condition for over five years, urging those with the disease not to shy away from seeking treatment.

“Things are better now that the government supports those suffering from the disease which is very expensive to manage,” stated Jane urging residents to ensure they take a health cover with NHIF to help them meet health care without much strain.

Ms. Jane cautioned community members against discriminating upon people suffering from cancer noting that they require both material and moral support.

Several residents in Kapsabet town were treated to a free medical camp organized by the County department of health and sanitation in conjunction with Apollo Hospitals from India.

The one day event was officially launched by the Nandi Deputy Governor H.E Dr. Yulita Cheruiyot.

The hundreds of people who turned up benefited in the free medical check-up and cancer screening by specialists drawn from Apollo Hospitals, India, doctors and nurses from the county referral hospital.

The deputy county boss hailed the free medical camp, saying it goes a long way in promoting the Government’s effort to provide affordable health care under the Big Four.

“This is not the last time we are organizing such event. We will find you at your places and deep into the wards and I want to announce that on 9^th and 10^th November, we will be at Chemundu dispensary for a free medical camp,” said the deputy governor.

Universal Health Coverage (UHC), according to the World Health Organization is aimed at ensuring that people from all walks of life get to receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. The county government of Nandi seeks to focus on preventable and primary health care whilst reducing high out-of-pocket expenditure for Nandi residents while seeking medical services. Areas of great concern include reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health care.

The Breast Cancer Awareness Month is marked in countries across the world every October, it helps to increase attention and support for the awareness, early detection and treatment as well as palliative care of this disease.

The county government of Nandi through the department of health and sanitation launched its annual County Breast Cancer Awareness campaign to mark the global Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2018 during the Isaiah Kiplagat Ndalat Gaa Marathon with a 500 meters race led by the Nandi Governor Stephen Sang and World Marathon Champion Eliud Kipchoge in honor of the day.

The County Government of Nandi has on The 24th of September 2018, launched its Big Four Agenda, aligning it with President Uhuru’s National Big Four Agenda. That is; Universal Health Care, Affordable Housing, Food Security and Manufacturing. The launch was officiated by H.E The Deputy President William Ruto. To achieve Universal Healthcare, The County has embarked on comprehensive programmes to rehabilitate and equip all its dispensaries and health centers across the county including upgrading Kapsabet Referral Hospital. The day saw a number of ongoing projects being commissioned by The Deputy President at The Referral Hospital including The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), The X-Ray machine, RenalDialysis Unit which provides services 4 days a week. The upgrade of the hospital also comprises of commissioning of an oxygen plant, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and expansion of the newborn nursery unit. The purchase of a 385 KVA standby generator to ensure uninterruptable supply of power to the facility has also been purchased which will go along way in ensuring that the residents can access specialized medical treatment. The day also saw the launch of the Health Management Information System, which is a set of components and procedures organized with the objective of generating information which will improve health care management decisions at all levels of the health system. The roll out of the HMIS will aid in easy access to patient data. A well-implemented HMIS means readily available patient data to the care providers. Four out of every five Kenyans have no access to medical insurance. In, the initial phase, The county has also managed to roll out a massive NHIF enrollment programme targeting 100,000 households. This is in line with the Agenda for Universal Health Care. The Governor Stephen Sang, also mentioned that the agenda has captured the aspirations of the people and that’s why he took the major direction of integrating it in The County Development Plan.“This event affords us a rare opportunity to set the pace for other devolved units to synergize with the National Government’’ added the county boss. Speaking during the event, the Deputy President mentioned thatequipping of hospitals with modern machines, medicine suppliesand improving infrastructure will go a long way in providing access to quality services. He also added that it ensures early, proper diagnosis and effective treatment hence resulting in a healthy population. He also assured the residents of the support by the National Government in achieving and making affordable healthcare and equitable access a reality. #TugaTai #TransformingNandi

The County Government of Nandi has assured nurses that they will receive support to ensure they provide better healthcare to residents. CEC for health and sanitation Ruth Koech hailed nurses across the county for the extra care and long hours they invest in taking care of patients and saving lives.

She was speaking in her office after receiving a scanner and a router from USAID to support the department of health Human Resource unit for the purpose of updating HRH data into iHRIS. Integrated Human Resources Information System (iHRIS) is an open-source web application built by Intrahealth International to improve efficiency in health worker force management and development. It helps to collect, manage, analyze, interpret, and disseminate data about the health workers countrywide based on international human resources management & development standards and practices.

Kenya is one of the countries supported by PEPFAR in combating HIV/ AIDS, RMNCAH and malaria activities. HRH Kenya Mechanism is a USAID PEPFAR funded project that strengthens health workforce management to achieve improved health outcomes for the Kenyan people. One of the key areas of the project is to implement integrated Human Resource Information System (iHRIS) and optimize data use for effective decision making at national and county level and establish linkages between iHRIS to regulatory and service delivery data systems.

iHRIS enables Counties to save time storing employee records with the easy to use web forms, enhances efficiency in managing employee data since it checks data integrity and consistency, HR managers are able to track the status of their health workers and know where they are stationed, trainings received, attrition etc. The system enhances communication between national, county and facility level as information updated at the facility level is accessible at all other levels. iHRIS provides national, county and facility-related statistics on health workforce numbers and skills and allows partners & other stakeholders to track numbers and skills of health workers for counties and facilities of their interest.