The new TB and HIV-Aids Comprehensive Care Clinic at the Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi is 70 per cent complete and will be opened later this year, health officials have said.
The construction of the state-of-the-art facility is funded by Aids Healthcare Foundation-Kenya and the county government.
The facility will offer a conducive environment for healthcare professionals to provide high-quality care, treatment, support services and dignity to TB and HIV-infected people.
The Sh6 million facility is further set to play a significant role in transforming service delivery in the county's sole referral hospital.
"It will create a safer and high-quality environment for improved productivity and client satisfaction," Health Services executive Gifton Mkaya said.
"This is among the many interventions we are putting in plans to streamline service delivery."
He said the devolved unit is seeking a strategic partnership with other agencies to help tackle the spread and access to treatment of HIV-Aids and tuberculosis at grassroots level.
“The partnership with AHF is a clear indication of a multi-sectoral approach towards access to availability and acceptability of HIV-Aids and tuberculosis treatment and care services in our county," Mkaya told journalists at the facility.
Ahead of the opening, Mkaya said health service providers have been trained on the use of antiretroviral drugs for improved treatment and prevention of HIV infections in line with the Kenya HIV Prevention and Treatment Guidelines 2022.
"Medics have been equipped with more patient-centred treatment and prevention approaches to widen access to key diagnostic and medicines for the management of most common causes of HIV-Aids," he added.
Jennifer Mwandawiro, a TB survivor and champion, said the new facility will create a bigger space to attend to the increasing number of HIV and tuberculosis patients.
She said the current TB clinic is congested and thus unable to handle the ballooning numbers.
“We have survived hazardous emissions from the waste incinerator, and this is the kind of facility we have been crying for for many years,” Mwandawiro said.
There are more than 1,500 TB and HIV patients seeking services at the facility.
The hospital has an expansive catchment from the neighbouring Kwale, Kajiado and Makueni counties.
The facility also serves as a referral medical centre for travellers involved in accidents on the busy Mombasa-Nairobi highway and the Voi-Taveta-Holili road.
