The endeavour by the government to provide Universal Health Care to Kenyans continues to get support from development partners, with the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) company investing heavily in health infrastructural development in Laisamis constituency, Marsabit County.
LTWP, the largest wind power firm in Africa, has financed the construction of a male ward at the Laisamis sub-county hospital at a cost of Sh15.3 million to ease access to quality health care and improve the welfare of the local communities.
The company’s Chief Finance Officer, Alice Waithaka, said during the handover of the 22-bed capacity ward to the county government of Marsabit that the availability of standard health facilities was key for the well-being of the community and the nation.
Ms. Waithaka said that the green energy backing up company has fully equipped the ward and urged the county government to see to it that health facilities in the area were optimally staffed and stocked with drugs in order to make the investment viable.
“The socio-economic-dimensional projects, which also focus on the water and education sectors, will be beneficial to the targeted communities if they are made operational through the deployment of personnel and supporting tools like drugs,” she observed.
Waithaka added that LTWP was, through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, the Winds of Change (WoC) Foundation, making the development ties with the government stronger in order to speed up development within its corporate areas.
This, she said, would not only enhance the much-desired growth but also transform the lives of members of the local pastoralist communities through effective services and job creation.
Waithaka also rooted for the improvement of the road network within Laisamis Constituency, saying its deplorable state was hindering students and pupils from accessing school and the sick from reaching health facilities with ease, especially during the rainy season.
She noted that public functions in the area were still being conducted through interpreters 60 years after independence because many of the members of the local communities could not speak or understand Kiswahili. She urged parents to take their children to school in order to prepare them for a bright future.
According to the company’s Community Liaison Manager, Job Lengoiyap, the lack of medical personnel at health centres and dispensaries across the constituency in which LTWP has assisted in infrastructural development was denying locals the essential service.
Lengoiyap cited the Sarima Dispensary, which, though it has a nurse stationed there, suffers from a perennial shortage of drugs and vandalism.
The manager said that the company was pursuing a memorandum of understanding with the devolved unit, where the firm would be tasked with establishing the needed structures and equipment while the government takes care of staff and drugs.
He said that the company decided to fund the construction of the ward and a laboratory in the Laisamis-Loglogo zone, which is prone to kalazar, in order to boost the fight against the disease.
Consequently, the Marsabit County Public Service Board has approved and deployed 8 nurses to the hospital for effectiveness in service delivery.
The Board Chairman, Ambrose Hargurah, said that in reciprocation for the LTWP gesture, the government had found it befitting to avail medical personnel so that the facility could be of use to the community.
He hailed the company for its CSR initiatives in the county, adding that the quality of work displayed pointed at prudent use of public resources.
“The eight nurses will be deployed within a week as we strive to adequately staff health facilities across the county,” he said, noting that it was only through optimal staffing that the desired results could be realised in the health sector.
Marsabit Deputy Governor Solomon Gubo, who was the chief guest, said the undertakings of the LTWP were a main driving force for Vision 2030.
Gubo said the county government would allocate Sh5 million to rehabilitate and upgrade facilities at the hospital to make it appropriate for rendering the desired services.
During the event that was also attended by the County Executive Member for Health, Ms. Grace Galmo, many trees were planted as an emphasis was placed on encouraging residents to sustainably grow trees in order to mitigate climate change and protect the environment.
By Sebastian Miriti
