There are no plans to scrap the expanded free maternal care, Linda Mama Boresha Jamii health programme. Instead, the government intends to make it more efficient under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Prime Cabinet Secretary’s spouse Tessie Mudavadi assured Kenyans and mothers in particular that, under SHIF, efficiency and accountability would be enhanced adding that disbursement of the free maternity money will be made timelier.
Mrs. Mudavadi, who was speaking at the Marsabit County referral hospital when she handed over 13 state-of-the-art neonatal incubators to six counties in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) region, asked Kenyans to be optimistic about President William Ruto’s promise for need-driven universal health care in the country.
She noted that under SHIF, efficiency and accountability would be enhanced while disbursement of the free maternity money will be made timelier and urged Marsabit residents to register for the scheme
The incubators valued at over Ksh 11.5 million donated under the Okoa Malaika preterm aid programme went to Marsabit which received three while the other five counties of Samburu, Garissa, Turkana, Wajir and Mandera got two baby incubators each.
She said the activities of Okoa Malaika were aligned with the government’s vision 2030 development plan which also aims at alleviating poverty and reducing inequalities in the country.
Mrs Mudavadi decried the high maternal and neo-natal mortality rate in the northern part of the country saying measures to reverse the trend were necessary.
Tessie who was accompanied by county first ladies from the benefiting devolved units including the host Alamitu Jattani added that the organization majored on infant pre-term mitigation interventions by distributing neo-natal equipment to hospitals in Kenya in order to ensure the well-being of mother and child.
“The Okoa Malaika program aligns itself with our government’s efforts to reduce infant mortality rates by ensuring a vibrant health sector under the universal health care” she said.
At the same time, Mrs Mudavadi asked local communities to heed advice against retrogressive customary practices that could negate gains being made towards provision of essential health care and services.
She noted that such beliefs and perceptions were making members of the affected communities to shy away from seeking modern medical interventions hence leading to avoidable loss of lives especially among the young and vulnerable groups in society.
“As much as the government respects the cultural practices of the local communities not only here in Marsabit but across the country I would advise against those found harmful and retrogressive” she remarked.
Her sentiments were echoed by Marsabit county first lady Ms Jattani who blamed the infant mortality late in Marsabit which stands at 23/1000 to failure by local communities to shun outdated and unsafe cultural practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and early marriages.
She pointed out that teenage pregnancies contributes to 29 per cent of maternal and neonatal deaths in the county and urged locals to say no to the regressive practice.
Samburu County first lady Beverlyne Lelelit commended Okoa Malaika for the donation saying the incubators added to the list of the much needed medical equipment that are critical in the provision of quality health care and services.
The distribution of the baby incubators to the ASAL counties brings to 16 the number of devolved units countrywide that have benefitted with the equipment from Okoa Malaika, an off-shoot of the Mudavadi memorial Foundation.
