The Murang’a County government has provided assistance to about 4,100 new moms in an effort to encourage them to give birth in hospitals.
Expectant mothers receive Sh1,000 during their seventh month as part of the maternal support program, which was initiated by the devolved unit last year, to help with their travel expenses to medical facilities.
After delivery, they get an additional Sh2,000 to help with their return trip from the hospital.
The initiative was launched in response to a survey that revealed approximately thirty percent of pregnant women were giving birth at home, putting both their own and their children’s lives in peril.
A large number of women who delivered at home failed to travel to hospitals due to lack of fare. This resulted in a high infant and maternal mortality rate with majority of the mid-wives who help them give birth in the villages being untrained.
But the programme was halted in November last year after it emerged that some undeserving persons were benefitting from it.
An audit was however conducted paving way for resumption of the plan.
Health executive Fredrick Mbugua said since its inception in March last year, the programme has managed to significantly reduce the number of women delivering at home.
Mbugua said the beneficiaries are women who have delivered from November last year and who had registered under the programme.
He said the initiative is among several programmes that the county government started soon after taking over with the aim of boosting delivery of health services.
“This programme was started in the spirit of Universal Health Coverage that aims at ensuring everybody has accessible, available and affordable health services,” he said.
Other programmes include Kang’ata Care that provides free NHIF coverage to over 43,000 households, automation of health services and upgrade of health facilities.
The county, Mbugua said, is also about to embark on telemedicine that will also help boost health services for residents.
The pilot phase of the telemedicine programme will start on September 1 this year in select medical facilities in the county.
“The aim of this programme is to decongest Level 4 hospitals by decentralising medical services to the rural facilities, saving patients with chronic ailments time and money spent on travel for routine refills,” he said.
Murang’a Level Five hospital nursing officer Salome Kimani said the maternal support programme will also support new mothers who are yet to register under NHIF.
“Those without NHIF covers will be registered and their three months premiums paid. We had done a survey that indicated that most of the women don’t have NHIF covers,” she said.
The women also receive kits with maternal support items that include diapers, leso, shawl, soap and a basin.
Kimani said they are expecting about 1,000 women from Kiharu constituency, 780 in Mathioya and 460 in Kangema while the rest will be in Gatanga, Kandara and Maragua.
Nominated MCA Gladys Wambui said the programme will make the process of delivering safer for many mothers and safeguard the lives of their babies.
“Many women who fail to attend ante-natal clinics face numerous challenges including giving birth to still born children or over bleeding.”
The programme, she noted, is especially beneficial to teen mothers in the county who often have to hide their pregnancies and face stigma from their families and peers.
The MCA however encouraged members of the society to support the teen mothers to enable them resume their lives and education after delivery.
“It enables them to attend clinics and ensure their babies are healthy as it provides them with bus fare. Let mothers take advantage of this programme to ensure their children are fully immunised to help them grow better,” she said.
