Women in Kwale county are set to benefit from improved delivery services with the construction of Sh7 million Gombato maternity facility.
Residents used to depend on a maternity facility that accommodated only two patients at a time. The new facility has a 10-bed capacity.
It's being constructed with the aid from Australian mining firm Base Titanium under the management of the Community Development Agreement Committee.
The committee was gazetted in 2020 but was officially launched in May 2021, to comply with the 2016 Mining Act.
The Act requires that the company running mining activities should cede one per cent of its total annual revenue for community development.
In Kwale, Base Titanium disburses the money quarterly with Msambweni getting 50 per cent of the one per cent, Lunga-Lunga and Likoni receive 25 per cent each.
Mshenga Vuya Ruga, CDAC chairperson said the modern facility will revolutionise maternal and neonatal health services for residents who have suffered for long.
Mshenga said patients used to share beds and had to queue for labor services.
"The older facility was too small, women had to wait to be attended to," he said.
He said the wing will be completed in a few months. The contractor is doing the final touches on wall decorations, ceiling, water piping and wiring before the facility becomes fully operational.
The facility has a standard waiting bay for maternity patients, specialised rooms for delivery and monitoring and consultation offices for daily clinic services.
It contains improved toilets for better hygiene and a kitchen to offer food for hospitalised patients.
The CDAC chairperson said more highly skilled doctors and nurses will be hired to offer services to women seeking maternal healthcare.
He said the facility will ease the residents' burden of travelling long distance to get the crucial services.
Gombato dispensary nurse Catherine Mnyiva Nzioka applauded the project saying it will enhance delivery services.
Nzioka said "Many women used to go to Diani but the new facility can serve both rural-urban populations."
Community health volunteer Agrippina Mshai said the maternity will elevate the standards of the Gombato dispensary.
She, however, asked the county and CDAC to consider hiring doctors on permanent terms for the facility to function effectively.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
