Siaya health volunteer's monthly stipend to rise to Sh5,500

Siaya County government will now pay more money as a stipend to its community health volunteers.

Beginning in July, the Community Health volunteers (CHVs) from the county will receive Sh 5,500 every month.

Currently, the CHVs are paid a monthly stipend of Sh3000.

The governor also announced that all the CHVs will now be enrolled on NHIF. The cover will benefit their entire households.

These are some of the adjustments Governor James Orengo announced on Wednesday in appreciating the contribution of the health volunteers in the county.

Siaya County government has brought to its mainstream medical team a total of 2,128 community health volunteers.

According to Governor James Orengo, the volunteers form a critical base of the health system that covers all households in the county.

In order to recognise the vital role played by CHVs, the governor has in the past week been meeting the volunteers.

The meeting targets all of the CHVs deployed in the 6 sub-counties of Siaya.

Orengo said the meetings are meant to appreciate the work being done by the health volunteers, engage with them, and address the challenges they face while promoting primary health care at the grassroots.

On Wednesday, the governor said he was impressed by the improved sanitation at the community level which is spearheaded by CHVs.

"Because of their work, we now see improved latrine coverage and reduction of diarrhoeal diseases," Orengo said.

He noted that additionally, maternal and child health has greatly improved, with 96% of mothers delivering at health facilities, compared to 56% a few years ago.

"The CHVs also do biannual household registration, hence provide an updated repository of health and socio-economic information, useful for the health department and government," the governor added.

He said the health volunteers will be provided with uniforms as a part of the increased stipend which takes effect from the next financial year.

"We will also ensure the provision of CHV kits for all of them. These will include medical equipment, protective garments and torches," he said.

He further revealed that all the CHVs will be prioritized during the supply and distribution of farm inputs.

"They will also be recognised and prioritized during bursary allocation for those eligible," Orengo said.

Additionally, in recognition of the strategic position at the households and community level, the Governor promised that the county will in the future use CHVs to address other social determinants of health, including food security, which is a strong pillar of his manifesto.

"To sustainably support the health volunteers, we ensure they benefit from investment schemes designed for formal groups as budgeted for by the department of enterprise," Orengo said.