Child mortality rate in Kirinyaga reduces to 8%

@Alicewangechi

Kirinyaga government has stepped up efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality rates.

Statistics from Medical Services, Public Health and Sanitation department shows that deaths of infants have gone down from 22 per cent in 2013 to about eight per cent.

The current infant mortality rate in the country is 29.720 deaths per 1,000 live births, a decline from 30.629 recorded last year.

The measures taken include expansion and improvement of health facilities such as the newborn unit and capacity building of health workers.

The sustained interventions have significantly reduced the rates of maternal and neonatal mortality.

Health executive George Karoki said the county plans to reduce preventable neonatal deaths by ensuring all pregnant women receive antenatal care and deliver in hospital.

Currently, 80 per cent of expectant mothers in Kirinyaga attend at least four antenatal clinics.

Karoki said the newborn unit at Kerugoya County Referral Hospital has been equipped with modern equipment such as incubators, CPAP machines, Phototherapy machines, fluid pumps and oxygen splitters.

This is in addition to light metres, radiant warmers, oxygen concentrators, suction and resuscitating machines.

Babies admitted at the unit includethose born prematurely, with low birth weight and those born at term with infections and conditions such as jaundice.

“Pre-term babies are those born before attaining 1,800 grammes and are nurtured until they attain at least 2,500 grammes after which they can be further managed by the outpatient pediatric clinic," Karoki said.

Babies recovering from complex surgeries are also admitted at the unit.

The equipment support the babies until they are fit to survive on their own.

“The NBU at the hospital can only be compared to one in the high-end private hospitals and is the best in the region,” he said.

The unit has received numerous referrals from both public and private facilities because only a few hospitals provide specialist neonatal services in the county.

Statistics indicate that cases of women dying while giving birth have also reduced to an average of 60 deaths per 100,000 mothers against the national rate of 414 deaths in every 100,000 cases. 

Governor Anne Waiguru has prioritised the optimisation of community health programmes to strengthen care coordination by connecting pregnant women with the available healthcare and social support systems.

“To achieve this, the county government has deployed 1,205 community health promoters, who are fully equipped with knowledge and medical kits to offer basic services to people in the villages," she said.

The CHPs maintain a register of pregnant women and check on them and ensure that they attend their antenatal clinics accordingly.

Waiguru, who is also the chairperson of the Council of Governors said she is committed to ensure mother and child healthcare is improved across the county.

She said her administration is in the process of rolling out a programme that will provide free transport to the hospital to expectant women for delivery. 

The M-MAMA Emergency Transport System will see the county contract and train transport service providers for pregnant women.

The women will also be given a toll free number to call on their expected delivery dates.

Ann Nyawira, a nurse at the new born unit praised the county government for empowering health workers and equipping the unit well.

“The unit has adequate room for Kangaroo Mother Care, where mothers are taught how to keep their pre-term babies warm through body contact, before they are discharged from hospital" she said.

 Before the county government established the unit, babies in need of specialised neonatal care were referred to Kenyatta National Hospital.

Such referrals were not only expensive but led to loss of lives.