• Amoth said studies had shown that close to 80-90 per cent of health workers don’t practice prevention and control measures.
• Amoth said hospital acquired infections contribute to avoidable morbidity and mortality.
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The country has recorded 1,094 cholera cases, with 25 fatalities since the first case was reported in Kiambu county in October, Health director general Patrick Amoth has said.
“As at November 26, we had 10 counties involved. Three counties with the highest burden of the disease are Nairobi, Garissa and Machakos,” Amoth said.
He said that all the 17 subcounties in Nairobi have been affected.
“As the national government we have developed infection, prevention control interventions together with counties,” Amoth said.
Amoth spoke during the dissemination of the Kenya Status Report on Infection, Prevention and Control in Health Care Facilities: Basic Hygiene and Hand Washing Services in Machakos on Wednesday.
Amoth said they are working with counties to ensure the availability of safe water, especially in health facilities.
He said studies had shown that close to 80-90 per cent of health workers don’t practice prevention and control measures.
“So, one of our challenges as healthcare workers is to change that practice. That we practice what we preach and what we put in documents that we have developed,” Amoth said.
He said the action plan is also an advocacy tool to show counties where they need to put investments to change the narrative that level 2 health facilities have the lowest access to safe water.
Amoth said hospitals, health centres, dental facilities and general practitioner facilities provide an opportunity to educate visitors and the general populace about minimising disease transmission by providing targeted messages and a ‘model’ safe environment.
“The basic hygiene and handwashing services in the health facilities assessment report before us today touches on the core of infection prevention control. It comes at a time when the country is dealing with Covid-19 pandemic, reporting cholera outbreak and at a high alert due to ebola outbreak that has been reported in Uganda since September,” Amoth said.
Amoth said hospital acquired infections contribute to avoidable morbidity and mortality.
In some circumstances, people may choose not to seek care because the nearest facilities aren’t functioning or because treatment is uncertain due to shortage of water, electricity or supplies.
“The situation is however dire at our facilities, the assessment laid bare some of the inequalities that not only exist among the counties, but also across levels of care,” Amoth said.
He said based on the current status of basic hygiene and hand washing services in Kenya, most of the parameters measured are within the WHO/Unicef findings.
He said through this assessment, it had been established that although about 64 per cent of the health facilities had adequate water, water was unsafe in half (49.5 per cent) of the facilities.
Also, 58 per cent did not have adequate handwashing stations, 62 per cent did not have functioning hygiene stations at points of care and 45 per cent did not have a dedicated decontamination area.