Murang’a county residents have been urged to uphold higher levels of hygiene so as to reduce the risk of water borne diseases during and after the ongoing heavy rains.
Speaking in Kandara during the county’s International Nurses and Midwives week celebrations Friday, Murang’a county nursing officer, Salome Kimani, said there was an increased risk of water borne diseases following the heavy rains and urged members of the public to be on the lookout.
She advised residents to boil drinking water, wash hands with soap and to wash fruits and vegetables properly saying the flooding experienced in some areas may have resulted in contamination on water.
“We have to be extra careful following the heavy rains, wash your hands with soap and be sure to boil drinking water,” Kimani said.
The Nursing officer also asked the residents to clear bushes surrounding their homes and drain away all stagnant water so as to reduce breeding grounds for mosquitos.
She celebrated the significant role of nurses in healthcare and called upon them to be vigilant and to uphold professionalism during labour and child delivery so as to reduce cases of developmental disabilities resulting from prolonged labour.
“We must uphold professionalism and intervene promptly to ensure that no child ends up with a developmental disability that could have been avoided,” she said.
She further thanked the nurses for ensuring continuity of healthcare services during the recently ended doctors’ strike
Nurses from across the county marked the end of Nurses week with pomp and dance at the Don Orione community training centre for mentally challenged children where they donated dry food stuff, toiletries and diapers among other essential things.
The priest in charge of the church-based centre, father Gideon Ombwori, expressed gratitude to the nurses for their donation saying that running the centre is expensive and they could use all the help they can get.
He explained that the facility picks and drops the children from their homes every day as well as providing meals for its 60 students.
“We pick these children from their homes every morning, and drop them every evening and give them meals here,” he said.
“Transport together with the physio and occupational therapy that they require are quite expensive,” Ombwori added.
The priest noted that the institution has helped fight stigma against developmental disabilities as well as easing the burden of the parents as they can go to work knowing their children are well taken care of.
The deputy county director of health, Doctor Kairu Kimende, on his part, strongly condemned isolation and stigma against children with disability.
He further applauded the county’s efforts towards safeguarding the welfare of children by developing a children’s policy that will ensure all children with special needs and developmental disabilities receive the treatment and therapy they need for free once it is adopted.
By Purity Mugo
