How Homa Bay group is fighting hypertension, diabetes

Some community health promoters in Kasipul constituency in Homa Bay County are helping residents fight hypertension and diabetes diseases using traditional foods.

The Kokal Community Health Promoters Unit Group which has more than 25 members says using such indigenous foods, they have the ability to prolong the life expectancy of the people.

The group is also helping to manage other non-communicable diseases such as mental health conditions, stroke, and chronic lung disease among others.

Global statistics indicate that one in two disability-affected life years and one in five deaths among adolescents are caused by non-communicable diseases.

Initiated in 2021, the group which consists of women and men as members has helped some people in the Kasipul constituency who have contracted such noncommunicable diseases.

The group chairperson Joan Juma says they realized that a lot of people were suffering from non-communicable diseases.

“Health reports we generate from the community reveal that every home has at least someone with a non-communicable disease. We decided to provide intervention by preparing traditional foods which we have proved is working,” Juma says.

Studies revealed that feeding on natural and traditional foods reduces the chances of contracting diseases. This is because such foods tend to lack chemicals that cause diseases.

Most non-communicable diseases are caused by feeding on foods with unwarranted chemicals. They lack the most required nutrients to fight such diseases.

Health promoters play a pivotal role in identifying people with underlying medical conditions in the community and refer the patients to the hospital for further treatment.

Recently, the government began empowering community health promoters by giving them comprehensive medical kits to enable them to attend to patients.

The medical kits contain different medical equipment used in disease diagnosis.

“We’re undertaking referrals, but we also introduce patients with diabetes and hypertension to traditional foods to manage the diseases. Many people have been helped in that manner,” she adds.

The group has a way of making porridge using sweet potato and millet flour. The members grow such traditional crops in their farms.

They harvest the food crops and preserve them in a natural way such that they do not lose their nutritional value.

Juma says some vegetables used by patients with hypertension and diabetes are dried in the sun.

“Such vegetables when cooked and eaten provide strength to patients and can be consumed by anyone,” she says.

Speaking at Mithui village in Oyugis, Juma says they have helped many people with underlying medical conditions from the community.

The community health promoters argue that they have realized that many people still do not know how to feed on the right food.

Juma says they have members in the group who know how to prepare vegetables using oil made from groundnuts. They have a machine for extracting oil from groundnuts.

“We also use sesame seeds to make cooking oil. It can also control body heat when consumed,” she says. 

Homa Bay coordinator for noncommunicable diseases Silas Mado and nutritionist at Rachuonyo South Sub-County hospital Susan Onyango said the health promoters are helping them to fight diseases in the community.

Most community health promoters in Homa Bay are engaged in training for capacity building to enable them to play their role effectively.

“They are able to sensitize residents to eat the right food. We’re working with them closely not only to improve nutrition but also to improve the health standards in the community,” Mado said.

Last week, Governor Gladys Wanga asked the more than 2500 community health promoters to intensify their outreach programs to reduce the disease burden bedeviling the county.

The county has been grappling with high AIDS among adolescents and malaria infections which contribute to high infant mortality.

Homa Bay is also listed among the counties with more cases of teen pregnancies and maternal mortalities besides sexual gender-based violence (SGBVs).

The governor said her administration is putting more focus and investing in health promoters to save residents from high vices and the disease burden.

She said one of the best ways of fighting the high disease prevalence is by empowering community health promoters to talk to residents about their agenda.

“We understand the integral role the community health promoters play in the health department. They have the capacity to help us fight the vices and disease burden the county is experiencing,” Wanga said.