- Isiolo chief officer for medical services Abdirahman Ibrahim said the donation would greatly uplift primary healthcare.
- The donation included 500 aprons for CHV identification, 600 bags for carrying medical tools, and cups and spoons.
Over 500 community health volunteers in Isiolo county have received medical kits donated by the Catholic Relief Service to help them provide better services to residents.
The health volunteers play a significant part in promoting primary health care, which involves activities aimed at prevention of diseases as well as identifying infection outbreaks and referring patients to the nearest health facilities.
The kits will serve residents of Garbatulla, Sericho, Ngaremara, Oldonyiro, Cherab and Chari wards where the CHVs lack adequate kits for effective services.
The donation comprised 500 aprons for CHV identification, 600 bags for carrying medical tools, cups and spoons for demonstration during home visits, 900 copies of Baby Friendly Community Initiative (BFCI) tools, and copies of the Community Health System Act, copies of household registers, referral forms and checklists for community health.
Isiolo chief officer for medical services Abdirahman Ibrahim said the donation would greatly uplift primary healthcare in the county with the CHVs having received enough medical kits.
Ibrahim appealed to other donors to partner with the health sector in order to strengthen the healthcare system in the area, saying that the current status could not satisfy the county’s large population.
The Catholic Relief Services in partnership with other non-governmental organizations through the Nawiri programme, which has been serving residents for the past five years, has been committed to strengthening the community health systems through donating of the kits to remote areas and also provision of other kinds of healthiness support.
Receiving the donation, public health chief officer Bisharo Hassan said CHVs visit homes to deliver health promotion messages, treat common illnesses and establish protocols for maternal and newborn health at the community level.
The non-governmental organization Concern Worldwide county representative Hassan Olow said the support given to the CHVs will ensure the people living in the remote areas where there are inadequate healthcare providers receive care and avoid travelling for over 10km in search of services.
“Our aim is to ensure the CHVs who have been playing a crucial role in the community receive sufficient and appropriate medical tools that will help them deliver good and immediate response to health issues,” Olow said.
He called upon the devolved government, and especially the county assembly, to ensure they enact laws to ease implementation of the CHV activities to improve performance of their duties.