Busia Deputy Governor Moses Mulomi has lauded the Global Fund for its support towards the fight against HIV, TB and Malaria in the county.
Speaking during a meeting with the Kenya Coordinating Mechanism (KCM) team and the County Health Management Team (CHMT) at the Busia County Referral Hospital, Mulomi said residents have benefitted through activities funded by the agency in preventing the three diseases.
The diseases are linked to high mortality rates.
“It is a very comprehensive programme that has helped our people very extensively,” Mulomi said.
He said that the biggest concern has been fear among beneficiaries that health facilities are sources of coronavirus.
Mulomi who is also the acting county health executive said they were concerned about the increased laxity in management of the diseases among residents.
"We need to work harder to ensure everybody attends clinics and follow up on the collection of drugs,” he said
His remarks were echoed by health and sanitation chief officer Isaac Omeri, who said the stigma associated with Covid-19 has made some people keep off health facilities.
KCM coordinator Samwel Muai said apart from assessing the progress made in the fight against the three diseases in Busia and Kwale counties, they want to ascertain how Covid-19 is being controlled and the effects on the health sector.
“We are interested in experiences of locals and stock status especially for ARVs and TB drugs. One of the objectives of the Global Fund is to follow up support to ensure that the intended beneficiaries are accessing this particular support,” he said.
Also present was Migori Health executive Iscah Oluoch. She represents county governments in the KCM.
She said that if all efforts are put together in a collaborative manner, Kenya will achieve a lot in specific programme areas.
The KCM team is visiting different public and faith-based health facilities within the county.
The team will meet the Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) and beneficiaries before having another joint meeting with the CHMT to highlight key findings.
Others in attendance included Busia chief officer for public health Jonathan Ino and the chairperson of the Busia county assembly health committee Vincent Ojiambo.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris