- The modern facility consists of spacious labour wards and a state of the art newborn unit.
- Health chief officer Dr Gilbert Ganda said the ward will ensure safe and comfortable delivery for expectant mothers.
The Kisumu county government has unveiled a new modern maternity facility at the county referral hospital.
Health chief officer Gilbert Ganda said the ward will ensure safe and comfortable delivery for expectant mothers.
The new unit consists of spacious labour wards and a state-of-the-art newborn unit, unlike the previous one that was small and dilapidated, with postnatal care carried out in makeshift structures.
“The ward and a baby unit are fully equipped with modern facilities such as incubators, defibrillator respirators, resuscitators and baby cots,” Dr Ganda said.
The maternity wing also has qualified doctors and nurses to help provide full maternal care and can handle premature births and birth-related complications, he added.
The ward has 28 maternity beds and more than three delivery rooms that can be used concurrently.
Nurse in charge Caroline Gichana said healthcare workers are ready and willing to give expectant mothers and children the best services.
“At the unit, we are providing quality level 4 ultrasound using the latest technology for early detection of fetal anomalies,” she said.
Kenya has some of the world's highest rates of maternal mortality. For every 100,000 live births, approximately 510 women lose their lives during pregnancy and childbirth according to the World Bank data.
Kisumu is among the counties with the highest maternal mortality rates, with 495 mothers dying for every 100,000 births.
Governor Anyang' Nyong’o has reassured that his administration is committed to providing quality and affordable health services to residents.
Recently, he noted that he was focusing on reducing the maternal mortality rate in the county through strengthening healthcare services and making them accessible.
He said the county government has invested significant resources to improve health infrastructure across the county, including the modernisation of the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital for better service delivery.
Nyong’o added that his administration is focusing on a holistic approach to reduce cases of hospital visits by continuously strengthening primary healthcare through investment in preventive healthcare.
“We must ensure that our human resources and facilities within the public health delivery system are not only good but of high quality,” he said.
Last year, Nyong’o launched a new medical insurance cover dubbed 'Marwa Kisumu Solidarity Health Insurance Scheme' that benefits 90,000 vulnerable families.
The scheme enables beneficiaries to access free medical services. During the launch, Nyong’o presented a cheque of Sh67.5 million to the National Hospital Insurance Fund to execute the scheme.
The 67.5 million covered 45,000 beneficiaries in the first quarter of the scheme. The second phase also covers 45,000 vulnerable people unable to make contributions to any medical insurance scheme.
Nyong’o said the realisation of the medical cover was a milestone in the fulfilment to provide accessible and affordable healthcare for all.
-Edited by SKanyara