• County secretary Abdi Ali said the main purpose of this support is to improve access of health services amongst the vulnerable and marginalised groups in Garissa.
• The project aims to improve the utilisation and quality of primary healthcare services with a focus on reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent.
The Garissa health department has acquired three motorcycles to enhance service delivery at the grassroots level.
The motorcycles which were flagged off on Wednesday by county secretary Abdi Ali, have been purchased through the Transforming Health Systems World Bank Project financial year 2020-2021.
THS-UCP is a five-year project that aims to improve the utilisation and quality of primary healthcare services with a focus on reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health services.
The project is anchored on three key pillars. The first is improving primary healthcare by giving grants to counties and financing family planning commodities through Kemsa.
The second is system strengthening by improving quality of care through policies, guidelines and strategies.
The third is monitoring and evaluation to ensure quality of standards and reforms in health financing and project management.
Ali said the main purpose of this support is to improve access of health services amongst the vulnerable and marginalised groups in Garissa.
The vulnerable and marginalised groups in the county comprise the Munyoyaya and Wailwana communities.
The motorcycles will be in service at Iftin subcounty hospital, police line dispensary and Sankuri health centres.
The facilities are supposed to use the motorcycles to conduct outreach services, defaulter tracing, home visits and referrals.
The county secretary said the motorbikes provided to the health workers are designed to bring healthcare closer to the people.
He pledged his support for the project implemented jointly by the Ministry of Health and the county department of Health and Sanitation.
“Let us make use of this mobile mode of transportation to serve wananchi,” the CS said, adding that the county is committed to serving the people and transforming their lives.
Chief officer Hassan Anshur said the Covid-19 pandemic had once again highlighted the link between health, the economy, the environment and social protection policies and mechanisms.
“Unfortunately, as counties continue to tackle the pandemic and look towards recovery, public health gains reported over the past 10 years continue to be lost,” he said.
Anshur said there is need to invest in building resilient health systems as a central component of recovery and thus resume the path towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health in the country.
Present at the launch and handover were chief officer ICT Rashid Farah, director Family Health Mohamed Haret, subcounty Public Health nurse Aden Hussein, county Reproductive Health co-ordinator Fatuma Iman and deputy co-ordinator Maryam Abdi.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)