COUNTY GOVERNMENT OF NANDI TO PARTNER WITH EASTERN PRODUCE KENYA AND TWININGS TO ADVANCE THE HEALTHCARE AGENDA
The County Government of Nandi is set to announce a new initiative with Eastern Produce Kenya (EPK), London-based Tea Company, Twinings, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project. The initiative is aimed at strengthening primary and community healthcare in the County. The leading tea companies are coming on board as the first private sector partners to establish a partnership with the county for accelerating primary healthcare transformation in support of universal health coverage.
“The County Government of Nandi is committed to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage. We are open to fostering partnerships that are dynamic and mutually beneficial and we foresee great potential in this partnership” said Ruth Koech, CEC for Health.
The partnership will harness the talent, expertise, technology, and resources of the private sector, in alignment and close collaboration with the County Government of Nandi.
The partnership will bring in resources from the community, Sireet OEP, Twinings, Eastern Produce Kenya, and USAID, and will be implemented with the support of two organizations working with Eastern Produce Kenya: SHOPS Plus and Afya Research Africa (ARA). R. Twinings co. Limited. A UK tea blender that has an ethical sourcing program called “Sourced with Care,” which ensures that the company sources responsibly and acts as force for good to improve quality of life in the communities from which the company sources around the world. SHOPS Plus is USAID’s flagship initiative in private sector health, which seeks to harness the full potential of the private sector and catalyze public-private engagement to improve health outcomes in family planning, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, and other health areas. ARA is Kenyan non-profit organization that focuses on sustainable solutions that tackle access, cost, and quality issues associated with healthcare services in Kenya.
The pilot program will refurbish, equip and strengthen the capacity of a local health facility that serves many of EPK’s tea workers, working closely with local community to ensure the quality and sustainability of services. The Chepsire facility had benefited from an investment from Sireet OEP in a structure that is partially complete. This will be refurbished, completed and equipped for improved services.
Earlier today, the CEC for Health Ruth Koech and officials from Eastern Produce Kenya led by Leah Kibii, Company Director at Eastern Produce Kenya held a consultative meeting towards the realization of the partnership. Present at the meeting were the Chief Officer Water and Sanitation Sally Kemboi, Director for Health Dr. David Bungei, Kapsabet County Referral Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr. Daniel Kemboi and his Nandi Hills and Meteitei Sub County Hospital counterparts Dr. Joseph Kangor and Dr. Kibor and also the Deputy Director Monitoring and Evaluation Mathew Rotich.