Garissa county government has commissioned 2500 community health promoters in ‘Afya Nyumbani’ initiative, aimed at strengthening health services’ access to the citizens.
The health promoters, according to Garissa governor Nathif Jama are part of the government’s commitment in implementing the Universal health coverage program.
The county CEC for health Ahmednadir Omar while speaking to the press at the sidelines of the Mashujaa day celebrations held at Bura East Sub County, said that the health promoters will be paid a stipend of sh5,000 with both national and county government contributing Sh 2,500 each for every person.
The community health promoters were initially known as the community health volunteers, but the name has been changed with structured working guidelines.
The CEC noted that the citizens will now be able to get health services closer to their communities, thus improving their quality of life.
“One important pillar for these community health promoters is the primary care networks and Garissa is one the first counties to launch its primary care hubs,” Omar said.
“In order to sustain our healthcare services, we have deployed consultants, pediatricians, gynecologists, and surgeons to our sub county hospitals in Dadaab and Masalani. Further, the governor commissioned the Bura east sub county hospital theatre Friday in line with strengthening our healthcare networks and also ensuring that our hubs are effective,” he added.
Omar said that going forward, hospitals in the county will benefit from uninterrupted supply of medicine and medical equipment to be able to operate efficiently.
“We have also been doing continuous supply of medicine to our hospitals as we align with the goals of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC). I can say that Garissa County is doing well in terms of provision of healthcare services,” he said.
