Maternal healthcare in Meru County has been boosted following the donation of maternity equipment worth Sh3.4million by Sportpesa Foundation to Mikinduri Sub County Hospital and Ankamia Dispensary both in Tigania Central Sub County.
The donations were distributed to the two health facilities by Sportpesa team led by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ronald Karauri, where Mikinduri Sub-County Hospital received 10 maternity ward beds and two incubators, while Ankamia Dispensary received five maternal ward beds and 10 maternity packs.
Speaking while issuing the equipment, Mr Karauri said the exercise was part of the company’s maternal health support commitment which was targeting all the counties in the country.
He also said the foundation will fully fund the construction of a new maternity ward at the Ankamia Dispensary, which was initiated by his mother Regina Karauri through a community fundraiser 24 years ago.
“Through this foundation, we are targeting to fund two hospitals every month in terms of improvement of their standards to see to it that Kenyans receive quality health services,” said Mr Karauri.
He said it is not easy for the National and County governments to do everything for Mwananchi and this realisation has prompted them to take up the initiative.
County Public Health Chief Officer John Inanga who attended the occasion noted that the health infrastructure has been a challenge in the county, but they were doing everything possible to ensure residents had facilities to run to whenever they are in need of medical attention.
He said so far the county government has managed to build 80 health facilities where 50 of these are already functioning.
Tigania Central Medical Officer of Health Dr. Nelly Kanja lauded the foundation’s initiative noting that women from the region have been losing their children due to lack of incubators in the facility.
She said the hospital serves more than 30,000 people yet it has a maternity bed capacity of only 40 people.
Karauri added that the commitment to support maternal health across the country was made in March this year after realising that women from rural areas were walking for long distances to receive the medical care they deserve.
The Sportpesa Foundation has so far made donations to hospitals in five counties across the country including Bomet, Nairobi, Kiambu, Tharaka Nithi and Meru.
The facilities that have since benefitted include Rironi Health Centre, Lunga Lunga Health Centre, Riruta Health Centre, Ndarawetta Dispensary and PCEA Chogoria Mission Hospital.
By Dickson Mwiti
