Kajiado residents benefit from free medical services
Hundreds of Kajiado residents have
benefitted from a free medical camp hosted by the county government in
collaboration with First Lady Margaret Kenyatta’s Beyond Zero Initiative and
other partner organizations.
The free fistula camp kicked off on Friday
April 21 at Kajiado County Referral Hospital with a one-day sensitization
workshop of healthcare workers on fistula screening and care.
The camp ends on April 29 and draws support
from UNFPA Kenya, AMREF Health Africa in Kenya, Flying Doctors Society of
Africa, Royal Media Services as well as Safaricom and M-Pesa Foundations.
Speaking during the camp, Kajiado Governor's
spouse Mrs. Edna Lenku thanked the First Lady's Beyond Zero Initiative for
conducting a successful medical camp.
"Since the onset of the camp, we have
managed to screen over 100 fistula patients from different counties including
Bomet, Marsabit, Machakos, Nairobi and Kajiado,” said Mrs Lenku.
“Out of these, 29 women were confirmed to
have fistula, and 20 of them have already undergone successful free surgeries.
More patients are still flowing in and the numbers are likely to increase due
to intensified community mobilization.”
Noting that obstetric fistula and eye
ailments were the major health challenges in the county requiring urgent focus,
Mrs. Lenku called for more partnerships.
She attributed the fistula prevalence in the
County to teenage pregnancies, untimely access to obstetric care and harmful
cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation.
Reiterating First Lady Margaret Kenyatta's
commitment to the promotion of healthy lives and wellbeing of women, children
and adolescents, Beyond Zero Coordinator Angella Langat encouraged women and
girls who suffer constant incontinence to come for free fistula screening and
have their dignity restored.
On his part, the UNFPA Kenya Representative,
Anders Thomsen called for greater efforts in health system strengthening for
prevention and treatment of fistula.
The Country Director for AMREF Health Africa
in Kenya Dr. Ndirangu Wanjuki said no woman should die while giving life or get
a birth injury, pointing to an urgent need to fully implement the National
Strategic Framework on Female Genital Fistula: Towards a Free Fistula Nation by
2030.
The Chief Executive Officer for Flying
Doctors Society of Africa, Tanya Nduati called for an integrated approach in
the treatment of fistula encompassing community education on prevention and
availability of treatment, counselling and reintegration of patients.
Others who spoke during the tour included
Safaricom and Mpesa Foundations Programme Manager Gilbert Emole among others.
During the free fistula camp, additional free
services were provided on 27th and 28th of April and these included targeted
HIV testing and counselling; comprehensive eye screening; and scheduling of
free cataract surgeries with the support of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF),
VisionSpring and Lions SightFirst Eye Hospital respectively.
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