A lobby group in Homa Bay County, consisting of caregivers for individuals with non-communicable diseases, is advocating for increased government attention to fight the diseases.
The group, dubbed Homa Bay Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD’s) Advocacy Chapter, wants the county government to allocate adequate funds for fighting the diseases.
The group chairperson, Mercy Kwamboka, said non-communicable diseases result in long-term health consequences and often create a need for long-term treatment and care.
The Chairperson, along with her Deputy Gordon Ayata, Co-ordinator Teresa Odero, and communication leader Florence Miyaya, were speaking in Homa Bay town today.
She expressed concerns that NCDs seem to be neglected because they are perceived as diseases which do not require emergencies, noting that was why the group was mapping sickle cell patients in Homa Bay County in partnership with NCD’s Alliance Kenya.
Kwamboka argued that the perception of the urgency of NCDs should change so that they can be given urgent attention like other diseases. “NCDs are serious diseases, but people perceive them as diseases which don’t require urgent attention. We want this attitude to change,” Kwamboka said.
She said the best way to change the narrative is by allocating special funds in the county’s budget to enhance medication and sensitization against the NCDs.
Kwamboka announced that the funds will be utilised to equip village health facilities with drugs and personnel, stating that this will help alleviate the travel expenses for individuals suffering from these conditions while seeking medical care.
“We are appealing to our county government to allocate adequate funds for NCDs in their budgets to help in providing health services at nearby health centres and dispensaries,” Kwamboka stressed.
Odero appealed to policymakers to stop neglecting NCDs. She said many health facilities lack adequate drugs for managing the diseases. “You will find that a person is suffering from an NCD, yet they lack drugs in their local health facilities,” Odero said.
Ayata called for sensitization against NCDS to reduce the number of people contracting the diseases. “Most of the NCDs result from poor lifestyles. There is a need for our policymakers and health promotion organisations to invest in sensitization to enhance prevention,” Ayata said.
By Davis Langat
