Kitui families with kids under 15 months to get Sh2,500 monthly stipend

Families in Kitui with children under 15 months or a pregnant mother will receive a Sh2,500 monthly.

The cash will be given through the Nutrition Improvement for Children through Cash and Health Education (Niche) programme.

Health executive Winnie Kitetu said although the regular cash for beneficiary families was Sh2,000, this special category qualifies for a Sh500 top up.

She said all 2,300 beneficiary households will receive appropriate nutrition counselling on maternal and young child nutrition through the Kitui’s health facilities and community health volunteers.

The executive said the implementation of the Niche programme is being done through partnerships with the Ministry of Public Service and Special Programmes, World Bank and Unicef.

She spoke on Wednesday during the start of a six-day training of healthcare workers on maternal infant and young child nutrition in Mwingi town.

 “The main objective of this training is to build the capacity of healthcare workers on maternal infant and young child nutrition in order to support nutrition education and counselling for mothers,” Kitetu said.   

Through the Niche programme, the county has so far trained over 90 healthcare workers across various cadres, Kitetu said.

Kitetu said more than 1,500 CHVs in the county will be trained on the programme early next year. The CHVs will be mandated to visit households within their vicinities.

She said the programme is in line with Governor Charity Ngilu’s pillar of quality and affordable healthcare.

Kitetu said the project was piloted in Kitui county in 2017, and its success guided its up-scaling to four other counties – Turkana, West Pokot, Marsabit and Kilifi.

 “In Kitui, the programme is being implemented in three subcounties of Kitui South, Mwingi North and Kitui Central,” she said.

Edited by A.N