The Laikipia governor, Ndiritu Muriithi has challenged health practitioners in the county to ensure that communicable diseases were eradicated.
Muriithi noted with concern that statistics from the ministry of Health indicated that over 46,000 residents were suffering from diarrhoea.
Speaking on Thursday at the Laikipia County hall where he witnessed the swearing in of Executive member for Health, Dr. John Lenai, Muriithi said that such diseases were preventable and therefore should not pose challenge to residents in this day and age.
“Water borne and respiratory infections have been on the rise and are a challenge in this County yet we are expanding our health care systems. We need to relook at our strategies in combating the same if we hope to have a healthy population,” Muriithi said.
He further said that his government would upscale National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) enrolment from the current rate of 52to 90 per cent in the next two years.
The swearing in of Dr. Lenai brings to eight the number of county executives in Laikipia. The County had stayed for over eight months without a full cabinet after three nominees for the executive were rejected by the local Assembly.
The three, Dr. John Lenai Kamerio (Health), Rose Nyambura Maitai (Public Administration) and Tabitha Muthoni Mbiriri (Education) were approved to hold the dockets by the Assembly two weeks ago after the governor resubmitted their names afresh for vetting.
The same Assembly had rejected the trio in October last year during voting time on the floor of the house, but gave no reasons for the rejection. The MCAs had doubted their qualifications first before dropping the names.
Rose Nyambura and Tabitha Muthoni were sworn in last week and today’s swearing of Dr. Lenai completes cabinet for the county.
By Martin Munyi
