There are no plans to scrap the expanded free maternal care, Linda Mama Boresha Jamii health programme but the government intends to make it more efficient under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Prime Cabinet Secretary’s spouse Tessie Musalia Mudavadi assured Kenyans and mothers in particular that, under SHIF, efficiency and accountability would be enhanced adding that disbursement of the free maternity money will be made timelier.
Ms Musalia who was speaking at the Marsabit County referral hospital when she handed over 13 state of the art neonatal incubators to six counties in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) region asked Kenyans to be optimistic about President Ruto’s promise for a need driven universal health care in the country.
She assured that under SHIF efficiency and accountability would be enhanced while disbursement of the free maternity money will be made timelier and urged Marsabit residents to register for the scheme
The incubators valued at over Sh 11.5 million donated under the Okoa Malaika pre-term aid programme went to Marsabit which received three while the other five counties of Samburu, Isiolo, Turkana, Wajir and Mandera got two baby incubators each.
She said the activities of Okoa Malaika were aligned with the government’s vision 2030 development plan which also aims at alleviating poverty and reducing inequalities in the country.
Ms Musalia who was accompanied by county first ladies from the benefiting devolved units including the host Alamitu Jattani added that the organization majored on infant pre-term mitigation interventions by distributing neo-natal equipment to hospitals in Kenya in order to ensure the well-being of mother and child.
“The Okoa Malaika program aligns itself with our government’s efforts to reduce infant mortality rates by ensuring a vibrant health sector under universal health care coverage” she said.
At the same time, Ms Musalia asked local communities to heed advice against retrogressive customary practices like early pregnancies that could negate gains being made just as the government strives to blend modern medical treatment with the traditional way of treatment.
“As much as the government respects the cultural practices of the local communities not only here in Marsabit but across the country I would advise against those found harmful and retrogressive” she remarked.
In her remarks, Ms Jattani blamed the infant mortality late in Marsabit which stands at 23/1000 to failure by local communities to shun outdated and unsafe cultural practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and early forced marriages.
She pointed out that teenage pregnancies contribute to 29 per cent of maternal deaths in the county and urged locals to say no to the regressive practice.
Ms Jattani commended Okoa Malaika for the donation saying the incubators added to the list of the much needed medical equipment that are critical in the provision of quality health care services.
She also asked Marsabit residents to enroll for the Social health insurance fund as the programme was not only meant to improve access and quality of maternal healthcare services but universal health care for all.
The distribution of the baby incubators to the ASAL counties brings to 16 the number of devolved units that have benefited with the equipment from Okoa Malaika, an off-shoot of the Mudavadi Foundation.
During the occasion, several mothers with newly born babies were gifted with baby kits.
By Sebastian Miriti
