More than 200 community health volunteers in Turkana are set to receive medical tools to enable them to scale up maternal, child health and nutrition services.
The initiative, which is sponsored by USAID Nawiri, will benefit 210 CHVs from the 14 community units in the county.
County Health executive Jane Ajele appreciated the USAID Nawiri for training the CHVs to improve health at the household level.
“The CHVs are the first point of health access and need to be supported to achieve sustained reductions in malnutrition among mothers and children below five years,” Ajele said, during the handing over of the tools to CHVs in Lodwar yesterday.
She said the CHVs are expected to use the tools to increase access to treatment of moderate acute malnutrition of children under five, malaria and diarrhoea.
She said confirmed pneumonia cases should be referred to the nearest health facility.
Save the Children project coordinator Akutan Lobolia said as implementing partner they have assured the county of their total support in ensuring CHVs deliver nutrition health services to mothers and children.
“The tools, to be kept in the metal box for safe keeping, were identification jacket and badge, torch, first-aid kit, dosage mart for nutrition supplements, reporting tools, pneumonia beads, malaria testing kits and so on,” Lobolia said.
Malcolm Lochodo, Health chief officer said the support given to CHVs will assist the health department in the operational activities.
“Training CHVs on nutritional health will empower mothers in the community to attain appropriate feeding habits to curb malnutrition,” he said.
Gabriel Ekuwam, field director of USAID Nawiri said they will increase trainings for CHVs to enable them detect early signs of nutritional deficiency.
Turkana passed the Community Health Services Act 2018.
The Act outlines the recruitment and remuneration of community-level healthcare workers and the health and nutrition services they can offer.
Almost 2,000 CHVs have been deployed to nearly every village to offer the services.
To sustain their work, the CHVs receive a regular stipend, equipment, supplies and mentorship from the county.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
