Over 33,000 women in Lamu County have benefited from maternal, newborn and child health interventions by Safaricom Foundation and PharmAccess.
Safaricom Foundation Chairman Joe Ogutu said they invested sh.42 million to equip and upgrade health facilities in the county.
“We got into the programme with the objective to reduce maternal and infant mortality, provide access to maternal health, improve the state of referrals and equip community health workers with skills.,” said
Over 20,000 households have been enrolled into NHIF which has enabled them access health services in a timely and effective fashion.
Mpeketoni Sub-County Hospital, Witu Referral Hospital, King Fahad Referral Hospital, Faza Sub-County Hospital and a boat ambulance serving over 150, 000 people were part of the sh. 42 million infrastructure set up to address challenges of access to healthcare.
The maternal, neo-natal and child health program reduced the delay in access to care by linking up over 11,900 women in hard to reach areas representing 60% reduction in distances covered. There has also been an improvement with over 2,400 successful referrals and over 12,000 skilled deliveries reducing the risk of maternal and infant mortality.
Close to 500 Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) were trained and equipped with smartphones to monitor households. Additionally, 161 health workers were employed improving service delivery in the county.
The findings were revealed during a dissemination forum held by Safaricom Foundation, PharmAccess and Lamu county.
