Use of modern technology has enabled the Nandi County Government to reduce the maternal child mortality rate by fifty percent. County Executive Committee Member (CECM)in Charge of Health Ms. Ruth Koech revealed that use of modern mobile phones and other tech devices has helped expectant mothers in Nandi County receive needed and timely attention. Koech expressed confidence that public health services across the County are competent, a situation that should encourage expectant mothers to seek medical services at public facilities rather than private health facilities. She regretted that some private health facilities were accepting maternal health services but they didn’t have adequate facilities and staff. The CECM who spoke at Kapsabet County Referral Hospital Ground during the marking of Nandi County Maternity Open Day on Tuesday urged expectant women to prioritise their health and visit the clinic eight times in order to implement the goal of zero maternal child mortality rate. ‘In case of any health complications, they should take action by visiting the hospital,’ she said. In order to strengthen maternal health services in rural Nandi, Koech revealed that the current County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP)has factored in building at least eight level four hospitals and upgrading those in town centres to level five referral hospitals. According to her, the CIDP has an ambitious program to employ and retrain sufficient maternal health personnel who will be deployed to dispensary levels to provide emergency delivery at the doorsteps. ‘Our health workforce will be able to perform the emergency instant care before the ambulance arrives because every family needs a healthy mother and a healthy baby,’ she added. Koech encouraged their partners in the private sector to continue working together to ensure mothers and expectant women are in good health. Further, the CECM noted that the County Government of Nandi had made admirable progress in blood donation and storage. ‘Donated blood storage machines will soon be set up in order to save the lives of bleeding mothers and any other unexpected situation that requires blood transfusion,’ she revealed. She encouraged the locals willing to donate blood to visit any public health centres across the county for further direction. The Nandi County Government in 2019 launched Sh 500 million ‘Mother and Baby Referral Hospital’ wing in Kapsabet town. Upon the completion, it’s expected that Nandi County will register zero mother and baby mortality. Governor Stephen Sang, the brain behind the project is convinced that ‘Mother and Baby Referral Hospital’ will stop maternal health referrals outside the County. Sang believes that the hospital which will soon be completed will make Nandi the solution of maternal health services in the region.
Source: Kenya News Agency