Lobby launches scheme to provide medical care for Kilifi elderly

A community-based organisation in Kilifi has launched a medical scheme for elderly persons who have been suffering silently in their homes.

The Khairat Medical Scheme was launched by Khairat Medical Centre, which also runs a level 4 hospital. The health facility located in Kilifi town offers medical services to the poor in the county.

Khairat Medical Centre chief executive officer Mohamed Mahfoodh said many elderly people are suffering due to neglect, depression, poverty and illnesses related to old age.

“We started the scheme in 2016 after we discovered that many elderly people were not getting basic medical services and were suffering in silence in their homes and villages,” he said.

Mahfoodh said most elderly people suffer from depression or ailments such as diabetes after retiring and cannot afford medication.

He said they started the scheme with 50 elderly people and the number has grown to 150. Mahfoodh said another 646 are waiting to be enrolled in the programme.

Mahfoodh was speaking on Saturday during the official launch of the scheme that brought together more than 100 elderly men and women suffering from different ailments. The event was graced by Kilifi Deputy Governor Flora Chibule and Woman Rep Gertrude Mbeyu.

The beneficiaries drawn from the seven subcounties of Kilifi received free medical services at Khairat Medical Centre.

The CEO urged the county government to partner with the centre to help in providing medical care.

Mahfoodh said they spend between Sh200,000 and Sh300,000 monthly due to the increase in demand and cost of medical services.

"This programme entails giving free medical services and also performing surgeries in some cases. This has weighed heavily on our finances but we will continue with this vision because of its importance," he said.

Khairat operations officer Abubakar Mahmoud called for partnerships between the facility, the county and the national government.

"It has been our desire to make sure that many elderly people access free medical services due to the situation in their homes and villages. But due to financial constraints, we have a long list of about 646 elders yet to be enrolled in the programme," he said.

Deputy Governor Chibule promised to partner with the health facility in assisting the elderly in the county.

She said the county government plans to enrol 8,300 households under NHIF, adding that the elderly will be given priority.

Chibule said she had learnt from Khairat Medical Centre that the majority of elderly people are not covered by the national insurer.

"We have allocated Sh50 million towards the registration of 8,300 households to NHIF in addition to the 17,000 that the national government is registering," she said.

"Because some of the elders here do not have NHIF cards, they will be roped into our numbers." 

 Woman Rep Mbeyu urged the national government to increase the allocations of the Inua Jamii Cash Transfer Programme, saying the current allocation of Sh2,000 per person, is too little.

"We have started the push in Parliament to have the elderly cash increased to about Sh5,000. The current amount being given out is too little to cater to their basic needs," she said.

Some of the beneficiaries of the programme could not hide their joy after getting free medication.

Francis Kahindi, from Vitengeni in Ganze, said the scheme helped him treat his five-year suffering from prostate problem and hernia.

He enrolled in the scheme two years ago.

"I went for successful surgery here at Khairat after I was enrolled into the programme. I'm healed and often I visit for checkups," Kahindi said.