TURKANA COUNTY SUCCESS STORY-EXTRACT.

A few years ago, mothers delivering at home in most villages of Turkana county was common practice. At Nanam village one would have to fight hard to convince mothers on the need to seek prenatal care services and the need to deliver at health facilities.
Despite the risks associated with home deliveries, these deliveries were the order of the day for the mothers of Nanam location in Turkana West sub county.
However, the story is changing albeit slowly and at least five mothers are now giving birth at Nanam health center every month after the maternity wing was fully equipped.
The facility’s nursing officer, John Cheruiyot said a total of 88 mothers delivered at the facility last year thanks to the equipping of the maternity wing of the health centre.
“The maternity wing is fully functional and was constructed at a cost of Shs 10 million has been serving five to six clients per month,” said Cheruiyot.
The facility is one of the three facilities in Nanam ward the others being Lopiding sub county hospital, and Nasinyono dispensary. The ministry of health has been allocated one of the largest budgetary allocations ostensibly to address the long distances that patients had to cover to reach health facilities. Last year it was allocated Shs. two billion.
The ministry is headed by Jane Ajele and is said to be among the top performing ministries in the county.
According to the nursing officer, the three facilities serve an average population of 60,000 which is mainly comprised of persons who migrate in search of water and pastures for their livestock thereby causing the figure to vary at various seasons.
Another notable development at the facility is that HIV positive patients are administered with anti retroviral drugs. Tuberculosis treatment which was previously being done at sub county hospitals only is only available at Nanam health centre.
Cheruiyot says these measures have really helped in the fight against TB because in the past most patients who were referred to Lopiding sub county hospital never used to go to the hospital.
The ministry of health has also increased staff at the facility from two to six health care providers who include two nurses, community worker, one nutritionist, one HIV testing and counseling service provider, and a data clerk.
In a bid to make their stay comfortable the ministry has constructed two housing units for the staff . Other developments at the facility include a male and female ward.
To ensure the smooth running of the health facility, Shs. 470,000 from the health sector development fund is injected to the facility every financial year in additional to drugs and a motorbike attached to the facility to ease mobility.
However the main challenge facing the facilty is access to water. The demand for water at Nanam ward is very high since much of the water is used by livestock.
Residents are now appealing to the county government to put measures in place to ensure they get enough water supply since the borehole at Nanam cannot meet their demand for the precious commodity.
By master Bakari

AN OPEN LETTER TO MARYANNEWAWERU

Hello Maryanne, how are you? I hope you are fine and safely arrived in nairobi. Going through the social media i came across your article following your visit to Turkana county,i hope you enjoyed your stay and got a feel of Tukana hospitality and ofcourse you must have ended your visit at eliye springs resort,an oasis and hotbed of luxury in the desert.How i wish i had your email perharps i could have responded there. But again judging by the response from the readers of your article it appears your message was received in different versions some agreeing with you and others with contrary opinion,so kindly allow me to address you through the same platform.What did not come out clearly  is your time of visit ,wheter it was before or after devolution.If it was before then you might need to visit again,a transformation is in the offing for you and if was after then i guess your travel was curtailed and limited to small area which does not in any way reflect the county image from a realistic perpective.I want to assume you are of a higher caliber journalism with a balanced opinion as opposed to having bias towards negative stories .Having been here for close to five years now and working in the ministry of health where your passion in journalism lies i found it necessary to respond to some of the issues you highlited in your master piece article, but first lets look at facts as they.The Surface area of the county is approximately 77,000 sqkm, 2nd largest of all 47 Kenyan counties ,Neighbouring with Ethiopia, South Sudan and Uganda as well as the counties of West Pokot, Baringo, Samburu and Marsabit.The latest Population estimates is Approximately 1,000,000  or thereabouts and not 855,000 as you mentioned. The Population density is approximately  13 persons per sqkm.As you rightly observed the main economic activity is pastrolism save for pockets of agricultural activities in Katilu and Todonyang.The county has 7 sub counties,namely Turkana West,Turkana North,Turkana South,Turkana Central,Turkana east,Loima and Kibish .You touched on nutrition and maternal health here and there ,i noted there was no specific reference but i would like to shade some light on these critical areas,according to kenyan government guidelines on intergrated management of acute malnutrition,version 1 of 2009 malnutrion is defined as a state of the body where there is less of the required nutrients or excess .The guidelines also highlights unicef conceptual framework which clasiffies causes of malnutrition into 3 categories.Immediate,underlying and basic causes,i would wish to focus on the basic causes wich 3ntwils national policies,geographical isolation and poor infrasctructure which directly or indirectly has an impact in completing the malnutrion complex cycle.For the longest time in the history of this counrty the county has been isolated and marginalised,be it by default or design is a topic for another day.If you had the opportunity to travel by road you will understand my point ,especially how poor infrasrructure hampers delivery of food and its impact on business,food security among others.A journey that last over 9 hours at bare minimum wheres idealy its supose to take 3 to 4 hours. However i have a feeling you flew via commercial aircrafts that serve the northern part of kenya from Nairobi and you therefore missed the opportunity to get the real situation on the ground.Notably the county is far and wide,with 77,000 sqkm in comparison to your home county its over 110 times,infact one of the locations in the county where i work is 2,356 sqkm!Yes you heard me right thats a location and still it is 3 times Nairobi county.And with pastrol nature of most of the community members who are in constant movement in search of pasture,it therefore means immense resources and realistic strategy needs to be put in place to overturn these challenges.The answer lies in devolved system of governance.Just incase it escaped your attention let me inform you that the county through its strategic framework has health as its key priority area,increasing access and improving quality of healthcare are its main objectives.To achieve this there over 70 new health facilities built and spread across the county besides other county infrastructual undertakings,ECD centres,administrative units just to mention but a few.The county government also did a massive recruitment of healthworkers in 2015 and as i write  this letter a second batch are picking their appointment letters from the PSB, Infact more than 70 additional medical oficers have been recruited by the county.As a result of these prudent actions there is marked and measurable improvements in consumption of healthcare services.To demonstrate this kindly allow me to use two examples to give you an overview in critical areas.Skilled delivery and Antenatal clinic services,mentioned in your article.From an average of five thousand deliveries annually to over 12,000 which represent 50% increase and Improvement of 55% to 127% coverage for mothers attending antenatal clinic.It would therefore be impossible not to notice this drastic improvemnts however biased one can be,infact it is miscarriage of facts to say but the least.The statistics thefore demonstarates clearly that the county has a plan and it is executing it accordingly.On nutrition its a complex matter compounded by several variables key among them;Pastoral nature of settlemments ,geographical isolation and poor infrastructure linking the county to the rest of the country.However in the fullness of time the county will find a breakthrough in challenges facing its people health or otherwise.Even Rome was not built in one day or so they say,credit should go where it is due. A kiswahili saying goes "mgalla mue, lakini haki yake mpe."Well, i can go on and on but let me end it there for now with that brief.I hope you will be back again soon on fact finding mission. Have fruitful week,wont you!

WITH CANCER, MONEY IS THE GREENLIGHT TO BETTER HEALTHCARE

Money is the green light to better health care,if you have it then you are in a better position,were the words of Fatuma Adan, A 45 year old Mother whose only son  succumbed to cancer of blood,leukemia.Sometimes in june i came across the story of Harun Abdulahi on Al Jazeera website highlighting the plight of 17 year old boy from a very poor background in Garissa, Northern Kenya .Indeed the mother explained the agony of the hospital trips, either for blood transfusion or complication arising from his condition which was made more complex by their lack of financial ability to access critical oncology care in his fight with leukemia.To bring this to perspective lets juxstapose the story of Rose Nasimiyu,the girl who at 9 years came to the public limelight oozing confidence ,courage and determination in her fight against Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Cancer that affects the lymphatic system.Since she had the privilage of publicity,Kenyans of goodwill were able to contribute money and Nasimiyu was flown to UK for specialised treatment, she recently came back after 5 years and she is now cancer free .Appearing on Churchill show and Jeff Koinange live,one could easily notice the difference.She is a fully grown teenager,her british accent mesmerised me the most,infact i found it difficult to comprehend whether she was the only one on the bench.For a moment i wanted to imagine that my old black and white LG greatwall television had technical hitch so that a third person,possibly a briton women wasn't in my  view,but alas!it turned out to be the young and lively Nasimiyu.Being the village boy that i have always been, i was honestly lost in the interview on more than one occasion as those english words passed over my ears.Well,that is besides the point ,the lesson here is that cancer if diagnosed early and adequate treatment is avaliable in a timely manner several lives will be saved.However,its important to highlight the fact that a combination of several factors facilitate cancer treatment,early diagnosis and intervention is paramount,even with lots of money at late stages cancer will reign on you badly and the end result is fatal.A case in point is Harison Kiptoo,a young brother to the deputy president who died of kidney cancer,it is reported that he kept his condition to his chest only revealing it when the condition had advanced to late and irreversible stages,in the end he passed away.With better health institutions and affordable care rources will also not go into waste,did you know that over 10,000 kenyans seek  treatment outside the country annualy?Unfortunately its only those in the upper class that can afford or those surviving at the mercy of kenyans of goodwill like Nasimiyu or better still through Harambees. All is not lost though,there is a ray of hope as the Tesla cancer centre is due for competion next year. The indian prime minister in his recent visit to kenya also promised to provide critical equipment and drugs as well as built a hospital in Kenya.Its only a matter of when the promise will come to fullfillment. On that note i wish to pass my message of condolecence to the family of AK President Isaiah Kiplagat who lost his fight to  cancer the other week,may his soul rest in peace.Have a lovely weekend ahead,wont you?

PALLIATIVE CARE IS EVERYONES BUSINESS

Today i begin on a very sad note,the other week i did an article about a young family from Kisii whom their second born daughter,Nelvin was battling nephroblastoma.Unfortunately the child passed on last monday at MTRH.She was due to start chemo but then they had been discharged home as they awaited for the return date,however they had to come earlier than scheduled after the child developed anorexia and dyphagia.The child passed on immediately upon arrival and the several months of misery came to an end,my condolences to the family and may she R.I.P.This is not to mention the fact that they came all the way from Kisii county,today she was laid to rest at Nakuru cemetry.Why the burial at cemetry?I know thats the question lingering on your mind,well i will refer you to my previous article to get an insight of the matter.

Misfortunes of this world,cancer included knows no race ,gender nor tribe or so they say.The quality of healthcare in this country is still at developing stage,especially in the mashinani where common mwananchi is found,with devolution however there has been slight improvement though not to the desirable optimum.It mostly depends on which county one is coming from,with respect to palliative care its only fair to say that practically nothing is happening in most counties except in Nairobi,Eldoret,Kisumu and may be Mombasa.While he served as the health CS Mr Macharia stated that the govt have plans to avail cancer equipment worth Sh21.5billion in at least 94 hospitals across the country and was setting up four cancer radiology centers set to be launched by July in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Nyeri counties and is also set to cater for patients from other countries in East Africa.Until then the hoi polloi of this country will be at the mercy of the Lord,shockingly the Cs clearly stated that over 10,000 cancer patients in Kenya spend Sh11.28billion for treatment in hospitals overeas.Yes,you heard it right 11 billion and for your information Cancer deaths in the country are third after infectious diseases and cardiovascular ailments. Each year, according to the Ministry of Health, there are nearly 40, 000 confirmed cancer cases.This is suppose to raise genuine concern of any responsible leader worth its name. Both at the national and county level.Health is a fully devolved funtion of the county government.Sometime last year the health workers wanted to petition parliament to reverse health funtion to the national government citing mismanagement,however the governers were up in arms and the story ended there.

It is therefore imperative that palliative care should and must be everyones business.Today you are in good health, tomorrow is in the hands of the almighty God.Mr kipkirui lelgo higlighted the story of Agnes Cherotich of Kenegut battling Ca breast,complete with pictures to back it up however scary they may have been on social media last week,and i was glad and delighted in equal measure,concerned Kenyans expressed their sympathy,others pledging donations,however it should not stop there.We should look beyond and modify our lifestyles which largely constitute rrisk factors as advised by the experts.I personaly visited Agnes at Rehema ward in  MTRH.I am glad she is responding well to treatment and hopefully she will be back to her normal life soon.Aproximately 900 metres away in memorial wing within the same hospital is another old man from Kericho as well battling Ca stomach,and the story goes on and on....I want to end  it here today with a polite request to Kericho county and South rift leadership  in general,there is a greater need to create a focus and establish reason for the spiraling cases of cancer from the region,efforts should focus on screening,management and timely refferal,when the worst comes to worst as is mostly the case,there should be an hospice so that the terminally ill can spend their last days in peace.Have a blessed week,wont you?

JOHN: THE AGONY OF CANCER ON A YOUNG FAMILY FROM KISII.

JOHN: THE AGONY OF CANCER ON A YOUNG FAMILY FROM KISII.: Born in mosocho Kisii county,Mr David Ogoti did not have an idea of how rocky life would be 35 years later.Just three years after he was bor...

THE AGONY OF CANCER ON A YOUNG FAMILY FROM KISII.

Born in mosocho Kisii county,Mr David Ogoti did not have an idea of how rocky life would be 35 years later.Just three years after he was born, his mother a single parent passed away.He was left behind with her only sister who was later to be married to a Ugandan,unfortunaly she too passed away while she was pregnant with her first child,no one knows exactly the cause of her death.He has no idea whom his Biological father is,whether he is alive or dead.Around april last year his story ran on NTV as he continued his search for his father,unfortunately he has not managed yo trace him to date.Ogoti therefore was brought up by his maternal uncle back at home untill he finished his form four,it was at this point that his lifes journey took another twist after he  abandoned him following a family dispute that borders on jealousy.He later went to kisumu and had to survive on casual jobs to keep himself going.He later went to nakuru in search of manual jobs for survival,while in Nakuru he managed to juggle between mjengo at building and construction companies and attending tracom college for a course in human resource management.That enabled him to secure a job in a security company in Nairobi and later in Mombasa until 2009.As if the hard moments were not enough,he lost his job as the company wound up.Life became unbearable and he decided to go back to kisii to continue and try something different in the village ,Mr ogoti got married to Mrs Ruth in 2007 and gave birth to their first born.In 2013 God blessed them with another bouncing baby girl,and like any other couple they were happy and hoped for a smooth ride as they raised their child.That happiness lasted up until February 2016 when the child felt sick and was taken to kisii county and refferal hospital when a diagnosis of neuroblastoma was made,Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer that mostly affects young children. It develops from nerve cells called neuroblasts.They were reffered to Moi teaching and refferal hospital for further management and have been in hospital since then,life has taken a toll on the young family,with a staggering hospital bill of over Kshs 100,000 he has resorted to the fate of well wishers.On 31.5.2016 courtesy of Q-Fms Rashid Abdalla his story ran on air and concerned kenyans managed to raise Kenya shillings 15,000.Mr ogoti is grateful for support to all the persons who have managed to support him this far,remember you dont have to be wealthy to offer help,all you need is to be rich and kind in your heart and contribute the little you can,his mobile number is 0791749558.Be blessed for whatever support you can manage,remember even a phone call can go a long way to empathise with the family and it will relief their psychological fatigue.

A VISIT TO ELDORET HOSPICE.

For over nine years of my stay in eldoret i have always had plans to visit Eldoret hospice to offer my support and empathy to the cancer survivors.Yesterday i took a walk to the facility which is approximately 5 minutes away from eldoret town.My encounter was a pleasent one,the reception right from security at the gate,health proffesionals and the  administration  was awesome.I was welcomed by the facility administrator Mrs Alice Terer,i had an opportunity to explain the purpose of my visit and she was not only encouraging on my dream to establish a CBO focusing on non communicable diseases,cancer included but also supportive.She later took me round the facility and i was able to meet the health proffesionals,Mr Boen,Miss Grace and Sarah the nursing officer in charge just to mention but a few.The facility offers outpatient services for cancer survivors and extended services right at their homes,through and intergrated approach by a multi disciplinary health team.The facility also has monthly family days for the survivors courtesy of sponsers,in the real sense of the word.Anyone can do something about it and you dont have to be wealthy to give,all you need is to be rich in the heart and donate whatever you can.God always bless those who give.I later left the facility at 2 pm,the administrator invited me for the family day which was going down today.The event was as colourful as it came and did not dissapoint either,i arrived just in time and after the guests had been ushered in and served the event began shortly after 3 pm.There was official opening of the peads unit,complete with attractive paintings and playing toys,it is worth mentioning that the art works was done by a volunteer.There was music and sky rocking entertainment,speeches and recognition of sponsers of the day.Just before then i had an opportunity to interact with the survivors,coincidently the first two i meet are from the south rift,an elderly man and a three year old child with neuroblastoma,cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body.,That serves to confirm my fears that the cases of cancer have been constantly on rise in greater south rift and something ought to be done sooner rather than later as stipulated by the kenyan strategic framework on non communicable diseases.As you read this article,i urge you to take a step and touch someones life affected by terminal ilness in every little way you can,if you are in Eldoret make a date with the hospice.You will come out with a heart full of  Gods grace,be blessed.

PUTTING CANCER TO PERSPECTIVE.

The other day i was reading an article about celebrity women offering support to fellow women who are either suffering from cancer or had survived the same.What captured my attention was the damming fact that across the globe it is anticipated that 1 out of 8 women are likely to be diagnosed with cancer ,will know of someone suffering from it or will participate in taking care of a victim.Probably because of breast and cervical cancers.However,i was not suprised either.Cancer is one of the leading non communicable diseases that experts have predicted will wrec havoc to human generation by 2030 if appropriate measures are not put in place. The others are hypertension and diabetes.Looking back at home,the minisrty of health through its strategic framework for prevention and control of non communicable diseases 2015-2020 leaves alot to be desired.
The ministry highlighted 10 key aims within the strategy, but for purposes of today i will only focus on two of them,1 and 10.The first being establishishing mechanisms to raise priority accorded to NCDs at national and county levels to intergrate their prevention and control across all government seectors and the other being promotion and strengthening of advocacy,communication and social mobilization for NCDs control and prevention.The government has made strides in the recent past but it will be a lie to create an imagination that situation has improved with respect to agony cancer patients undergo.Recently we were treated to a spectacle by the kenyan doctors reffering their clients to foreign countries for kickbacks ,simply because the cost of diagnosis and treatment in kenya is expensive to say but the least.If the diagnosis and treatment was readily avaliable there would be no need for refferal in the first place,and the common mwanchi cannot afford it unless through a fund raiser.The wealthy and the rich political class are not bothered since they can manage it anyway,the government both national and county needs to work together and provide a solution together as opposed to the political sideshows witnesed in the recent past.Secondly the level of awareness and advocacy is still low,given the fact that most cancers can be managed at early stages if detecttion is timely.Currently 80% of cancer cases are diagnosed at advanced stages.Primary prevention,early detection,diagnosis & treatment , pain relief and palliative care,cancer surveillance,monitoring and evaluation should be accorded priority.Most importantly modification of risk factors is critical,this cuts across for all NCDs,in Kenya the risk factors includes the following:genetic predisposition,enviromental carcinogens,behavioral risk factors and infections.we have a collective responsibility to demand qualityand affordable healthcare from the government of the day in adressing low awareness levels ,early diagnosis and treatment as well as strengthening the refferal system.Have a blessed week.

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