Ruto: Nairobi community health promoters register 810,590 households

Nairobi's Community Health Promoters (CHPs) have registered 810,590 households on the electronic Community Health Information System (e-CHIS), President William Ruto has said.

Speaking on Saturday during a meeting with a section of Nairobi Community Health Promoters at State House, the President said the figures demonstrate the impact of the government's investment in strengthening primary healthcare through the community health programme.

"The numbers tell the story of what that investment has bought. Nairobi's CHPs have registered 810,590 households on e-CHIS – 54 per cent of the county's target – and revisited over 766,000 homes for routine care," Ruto said.

The President noted that Nairobi has 7,480 Community Health Promoters who have been equipped by the national government with CHP kits, medicines, other medical supplies and smartphones to enable them to deliver services through the electronic Community Health Information System.

He said both the national and Nairobi county governments have committed resources to support the programme, with the national government financing the promoters' stipends while the county government has paid its share of the monthly stipends up to June this year.

Beyond household registration, Ruto highlighted the role of Community Health Promoters in disease prevention and early detection, adding that they have conducted nearly 2.7 million diabetes screenings covering close to 943,000 people and referred nearly 30,000 patients for further management.

The promoters, the President indicated, have also carried out more than 2.16 million hypertension screenings covering over 743,000 people, leading to nearly 50,000 referrals to health facilities for specialised care.

In addition, they have assessed 1.13 million children under the age of five for malnutrition, diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia, helping identify illnesses early and facilitating timely treatment.

"Those are not mere statistics. Those are diseases caught early, mothers guided to safe deliveries, and children protected before illness takes hold. That is what prevention looks like when it is delivered household by household," the President said.

Ruto noted that nationally, about 9.4 million households, representing more than 30 million Kenyans, have been enrolled on the electronic Community Health Information System since the programme was launched in October 2023.

The President said the government will continue investing in the programme through training, professional development, digitisation of community health services and the provision of essential equipment and supplies to frontline health workers.

He added that Community Health Promoters remain central to the government's primary healthcare agenda and the country's drive towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.