County sets aside Sh1.9 billion to improve health

By ERIC ABUGA   

Kisii, Kenya: The Kisii County government has set aside more than Sh1.9 billion for improving all its health centres. The county government is in its final stages of turning Kisii Level Five Hospital into a teaching and referral facility.

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the county government and Kisii University and teaching protocols, including the curriculum, finalised.

 The Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital Bill has been approved by the Kisii County Assembly. The county government recently launched an ambulance service under a Public, Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with the Kenya Red Cross. Each of the nine sub-county hospitals has a state-of-the-art ambulance operated by qualified paramedics.

“My government has placed high priority improving the health sector. This sector has for long faced challenges, including inadequate financing, dilapidated physical facilities, unreliable supply of drugs, absence of adequate medical equipment and shortage of qualified medical staff,” the Kisii Governor James Ongwae (pictured) said.

In another PPP arrangement with Kenya Commercial Bank, Kisii branch, a Renal Unit has been set up at the Kisii Level Five Hospital.

The hospital lacked the facility since 1916, when it was established. Chase Bank has also renovated and equipped the Orthopaedic ward at the hospital, while Care Kenya provided an Orthopaedic diagnostic equipment.

The county government has also signed an MOU with investors who will soon set up the various health care facilities in the county, including a state-of-the art diagnostic laboratory, an endoscopic unit in Kisii County and theatres in all nine sub-county hospitals. “We are ensuring adequacy of medical supplies in our health institutions and indeed we recently distributed drugs worth Sh54 million that have been distributed to health facilities in all sub counties. We have placed another order for drugs worth Sh54 million,” Mr Ongwae said.

The county government has also advertised for employment of more than 15 medical specialists to add on the 81 already working in various health centers in the County.

More than 30 clinical officers will also be employed and posted to all sub-county health centres. In partnership with Care International Kenya, all sub-county health facilities have also received a number of medical equipment and machines.