The department of health has embarked on an initiative to create awareness on the importance of Antenatal care clinics (ANC) among pregnant women in Homa Bay.
Homa Bay Town Health Promotion Officer Charles Okatch said the campaign’s objective is to ensure women attend all sessions of the ANC so that they can be given the prescribed doses of malaria prophylaxis in the form of Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) to cushion them from malaria infections.
Okatch stated that it is imperative that the mothers receive the full dose of the SP drugs as part of the strategies channelled towards preventing malaria transmission in pregnancy, which can only be achieved when they attend at least four ANC sessions after the first trimester.
He noted that only a small percentage of women in Homa Bay show up for their antenatal care visit, while the majority do not, adding that they are ignorant of the importance of these visits for themselves as well as their unborn babies.
“Pregnant women are supposed to get four doses of the anti-malarial drugs during their pregnancy period, but unfortunately some of them fail to attend the antenatal clinics while others come later on in their pregnancy,” he added.
Okatch said when the women attend their clinic late, they fail to benefit from the full course of the medication, and that the chances of them contracting malaria become high.
The officer was concerned that schoolgirls and youth are also not keen on antenatal care visits because of fear or school commitment, and that the department is urgently seeking ways to bring them onboard.
“We will be undertaking outreaches to reach out to them as well as the community at large after we are through with mapping,” he stated.
According to Okatch, there are risks associated with contracting malaria in pregnancy, such as preterm birth, low birth weight, a risk of having complications, and the risk of the mother being anaemic.
He averred that the SP drugs must be complemented with other prevention measures, including the use of mosquito nets.
However, the officer highlighted that as a ministry and department, they have several challenges, such as lack of enough human resources and a shortage of commodities like malaria test kits.
“Pregnant mothers have to wait for long before they can be attended to due to lack of enough personnel at some of our facilities, and it is for this reason that they get discouraged from coming back,” said the officer.
The department has initiated a number of measures to counter malaria infection at the household level, including Indoor Residual Spraying which has been undertaken in 5 cycles, distribution of mass nets, and it is now undertaking case management.
By Sitna Omar
