• Muturi presided over the official opening of the Sh4.8 Million shelter which was constructed through the National Government Affirmative Action Fund on Saturday.
• It will enable pregnant women from the county to receive skilled healthcare during delivery.
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has offered a Sh5,000 token to the first 20 women to deliver at a new maternity facility at King Fahad Hospital in Lamu.
Muturi presided over the official opening of the Sh4.8 Million shelter which was constructed through the National Government Affirmative Action Fund on Saturday.
It will enable pregnant women from the county to receive skilled healthcare during delivery.
A similar facility which cost Sh6.8 million was opened by the Safaricom Foundation at Witu dispensary in Lamu West early this year.
The new facility is a relief especially for women from far-flung islands of Kizingitini, Faza, Ndau, Kiunga, Kiwayu, Mkokoni, Pate.
Pregnant women will be required to check in about ten days earlier to enable them for rest and receive specialised care before delivery.
The facility will also serve as a waiting and observation centre for pregnant women nearing delivery.
Muturi thanked Lamu Women Rep Ruweida Obbo Obbo for prioritising maternal health.
“I am impressed by Obbo. She’s getting only Sh14 million for NGAAF annually but that has enabled her to do great things for her people,” he said.
Obbo expressed confidence that maternal and newborn deaths will reduce as mothers will get the proper care.
“Our women will no longer have to worry about giving birth or not, or if they will turn up alive together with their babies. It’s going to be okay. Let’s make use of this shelter,” she said.
Lamu Health executive Anne Gathoni said statistics indicated that out of every 100,000 pregnant women in Lamu, 600 die during childbirth annually.
She admitted that maternal mortality was still a heavy burden but was optimistic that the shelter would help the situation.