More than 200 tea farmers in Nyansiongo town have benefitted from a two-day free medical camp organized by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Foundation in partnership with Majani Insurance Brokers Limited.
Hundreds of farmers were examined for various non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and other common morbidities in an event held at Kijauri Sub County Hospital.
According to the facility’s Medical Superintendent Dr. Steve Onsase, the most prevalent diseases among the tea farmers included diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and peptic ulcers noting that those suffering from such diseases required medication and regular check-ups.
Dr. Onsase urged the patients to strive to live a healthy lifestyle and schedule regular check-ups to ensure early detection and treatment so that they could avoid complications in the future.
He noted that the facility has a record of patients that they followed up on a monthly basis at the diabetic and hypertensive clinics adding that they provided services to 150-200 patients in both clinics on a weekly basis.
Nyamira KTDA Board Member Thaddeus Mose lauded the Foundation for supporting the initiative saying their efforts have contributed to the tea reforms agenda of ensuring that they have a healthy farming population.
Mose decried the low uptake of the medical insurance cover by tea farmers saying that most of them had not visited the facilities that offer services courtesy of Majani Insurance.
The Board Member said the insurance supports a wide range of tea farmers including the small-scale farmers and encouraged them to invest in the cover.
Mary Mogaka, one of the beneficiaries, thanked KTDA for organizing the medical camp saying that previously, she could not afford medication for her high blood pressure but had received the same for free during the exercise.
She urged the sponsors of the event to conduct the outreach on a yearly basis to ensure they live healthy lives even as they continue to promote tea farming in the region.
By Mercy Osongo
