Homa Bay county government has embarked on capacity building of health workers to equip them with skills to tackle emerging health challenges.
Governor Gladys Wanga said the county lacks personnel in some key areas, hence employment and training of critical healthcare workers will be a big boost.
She said that the training was particularly necessary in boosting the morale of the Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) around the county who for long, have not been well taken care of.
“These unsung heroes and heroines are our first line of defence on issues pertaining to maternal healthcare which calls for our close attention,” said Wanga.
Speaking Friday during a health stakeholders’ forum in Homa-Bay town, the Governor said there was need for collaborative approach with partners that can help the government pay stipends to CHVs.
“For us to achieve a quality affordable and accessible healthcare system, the human resource needs to be efficient and motivated,” she said.
She said it was regrettable that Homa-Bay County was fairing badly according to a recent survey titled ‘Unintended Pregnancies and HIV amongst Adolescents and Young People’.
Wanga said that a big percentage of the girls aged 15-17 in the county are mothers or are pregnant with their first child
“In developing legislative frameworks to deal with a number of emerging issues, we would like to work with partners to help us come up with Bills on Gender Based Violence and Teenage Pregnancies,” Wanga said.
She reiterated that they recently partnered with African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) in the same areas and will continue to strengthen partnership with other like-minded organisations.
By Brian Odhiambo and Davis Langat
