Kilifi County Government has embarked on the construction of maternity wings complete with surgical theatres in its health facilities, according to Governor Gideon Mung’aro.
On Wednesday, Mr Mung’aro launched a 22-bed maternity wing that will also house two surgical theatres at the Malindi Sub County Hospital, a project that is expected to cost Sh100 million loaned to the county government by the Government of Italy through the Italian Development Cooperation.
Mung’aro said his administration had started building two theatres in every hospital and health centre, one for expectant women and the other for ordinary patients, in order to reduce maternal and child deaths in the county.
“We lose many mothers because when they come to hospital requiring emergency surgery, they are forced to queue with other patients,” he said.
About 532 expectant mothers die of pregnancy-related complications out of every 100,000 live births in Kilifi County, according to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) of 2022.
This rate is slightly higher than the national average of 530 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, and far surpasses the global average of 223 per 100,000 live births.
Many factors have been attributed to this sorry state of affairs in the coastal county, with teenage pregnancies, limited access to quality maternal and new born health services as well as postpartum haemorrhage topping the list.
The governor at the same time announced that an eight-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) being constructed at Sh50 million next to the site of the proposed maternity wing would be commissioned soon.
The facility is being constructed by the Coast Development Authority through the Malindi Integrated Social and Health Development Programme also being funded by the Italian Government through a loan.
On the chaotic transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the new Social Health Authority, Mr Mung’aro said that his administration had decided that no patient would be affected by the challenges.
“Of course, there are many challenges, but we have decided that the patient will not be affected in any way. As long as you are registered, you will be treated and go home. We will handle the rest with the national government later,” he said.
Mr Mung’aro lauded the cordial relationship between the Kenya Government and its Italian counterpart, which he said had enabled his county to secure the loan.
Deputy Italian Ambassador to Kenya Lorenza Gambacorta said her government was trying to support the Kenyan government plan to provide better quality healthcare services especially for women and children, where women will not have to wait for normal theatre facilities.
“We are committed to supporting the Kenyan Government’s plan to provide quality health care services especially for women and children so that pregnant women will not have to wait in the queue for normal theatre but will have a specialized place or the service,” she said.
Ms Gambacorta said the ICU would increase the capacity of the Malindi Sub County Hospital to treat patients faster as the patients in critical condition would no longer have to be rushed elsewhere for intensive care as is currently the case.
Malindi Member of Parliament Amina Laura Mnyazi and Kilifi Woman Representative Gertrude Mbeyu Mwanyanje welcomed the construction of the maternity wing at the sub county hospital saying it would bring great relief to women, not only in Malindi but also in the entire North Coast region.
Ms Mnyazi called on the Ministry of Health to quickly resolve the issues around health insurance so that patients stop suffering. She also sought for a comprehensive explanation on whether money contributed to the defunct NHIF had been transferred to SHA.
Ms Mwanyanje on her part said she was perturbed by the high maternal mortality rate in the county and expressed hope that the maternity wings being constructed would ease the situation.
She urged health workers, especially doctors, to serve residents with more dedication and resist the urge of being absent from duty.
“For this facility to serve well, doctors must be available 24/7. We do want a situation where expectant mothers are forced to wait on the benches because doctors are not available at night,” she said adding, “Some children are born crippled due to delayed labour.”
Zaituni Issa, a Malindi resident, lauded the construction of the new maternity wing at the hospital, saying that the current one is too small to serve the high number of patients.
By Emmanuel Masha
