Garissa fetes mentors for boosting maternal health

The Health department in Garissa has awarded 19 dedicated mentors working to improve the quality of care in maternal and newborn health.

In a ceremony held at Garissa town on Monday, Health executive Roble Nunow said the workers were awarded for their commitment and hard work to promote the Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) sector.

The executive and the Health management team encouraged them to continue creating the change Garissa county desires to see.

Ijara Subcounty Hospital also scooped an award.

Nunow said the health facility has demonstrated consistency, institutionalisation and sustainability of EmONC mentorship.

He added that sustained continuity of health facility mentorship during the Covid-19 pandemic and during the healthcare workers' strike in 2020-21 was considered in the award.

The Ijara Subcounty Hospital never missed a single mentorship session in the health facility since the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine started supporting EmONC mentorship in April 2020.

On Monday, the Health executive said the county has made tremendous strides to reduce maternal and perinatal deaths.

The maternal mortality rate in Garissa stood at 5,000 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2008.

In 2013, the rate reduced to 3,900 deaths per 100,000 births and improved further in 2018 to 500 per 100,000 births.

“Our target is to have fewer than 50 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is achievable if we remain committed and focused,” he said.

He said the construction and subsequent equipping of facilities has been a game-changer.

He said training of the technical staff by the Liverpool Insititue and follow-ups have proven to be the best intervention mechanism.

More than 3,000 women die in Kenya annually because of complications related to pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium period.

According to the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study, Kenya has reported a decline in infant mortality from 62 deaths per 1,000 live births to 22 between 1990-19.

For every woman who dies in childbirth in Kenya, it is estimated that another 20 to 30 suffer serious injury or disability due to complications during pregnancy or delivery.