•Kapkoni, who spoke in Kitengela on Tuesday, said so far 7,036 cases have been reported in the county and 195,359 people have received two doses of vaccines.
•He said the county medical staff are ready to travel any width and breadth of the county to take Covid-19 vaccines to the people.
Kajiado county director of medical services Ezekiel Kapkoni has cautioned Maasai communities against relying on untested herbal medicine to combat Covid- 19 infections.
Kapkoni, who spoke in Kitengela on Tuesday, said so far 7,036 cases have been reported in the county and 195,359 people have received two doses of vaccine jabs.
“This represents 29.5 per cent of the people who have turned up for vaccination. Those relying on herbs should start realising that the concoctions they are using cannot stop the spread of Covid - 10,” said Kapkoni.
Kapkoni said the county medical staff are ready to travel any width and breadth of the county to take Covid-19 vaccines to the people.
“We are ready to be invited to churches, political rallies, schools, colleges, and even private parties at no cost because we are properly prepared. We do not want to be caught flat-footed as the infections begin to rise in the country,” said Kapkoni.
He said the county’s department of health has set up outreach points in all the 6 sub-counties of Isinya, Mashuru, Central, West, North, and South.
Kapkoni was speaking when he closed a one-day training of journalists on early child development advocacy when he also said 43 per cent of all children under 5 years in low and middle-income countries are at risk of poor development due to poverty and stunting.
“As a result, they will have poorer cognition, educational outcomes, lower income, higher fertility, and reduced child survival health and nutrition,” he said.
The county director said the health of the mother before the birth of the child is crucial, adding that once they give birth, they should be encouraged to breastfeed their children for not less than two years.
The journalists, who are members of the Africa Media Network for Health, from Kajiado attended the training.
Lydia Kilowua of the health department in the county said high severe malnutrition cases in children have been reported in the Kajiado East sub-county followed by the Central.
“We are calling on caregivers to ensure that pregnant women are given folic acid and iron which are crucial for foetus development in the tummy,” said Kilowua.
She said stunting in children and other complications that arise from poor management of pregnant women are to blame for mental problems that will affect their children later in school life.
The Kenya Aids NGOs Consortium (KANCO), a non-governmental organisation sponsored the training.
Stephen Ikonya from KANCO said 95,767 children between the age of 0 and 5 years were dewormed in Kajiado and Kiambu in the last year.
He said 93,204 of the children they visited in Kajiado and Kiambu received vitamin A supplements.