Community Nurses in Kisumu deserves recognition with better stipend

President of Mwalimu James Japheth Mwamu Foundation James Mwamu explains a point to Community Health Volunteers at Gita Dispensary in Kisumu East constituency where he said they deserve recognition with better stipend-Photo By Mwalimu James Japheth Mwamu Foundation

By Dickson Odhiambo

 

August 8, 2021

 

Community Nurses in Kisumu deserves recognition with better stipend

 

The Work being done by the Community Health Volunteers popularly known as Community nurses within Kisumu County should be recognized by being given better stipend to cushion them for their good work within the community they serve.

 

President of Mwalimu James Japheth Mwamu Foundation James Aggrey Mwamu says the Community Health Volunteers does a lot of work on health issues within the local community hence deserve an increase in their monthly stipend.

 

He says the community nurses needs about shs 5,000 up from the current sh 2,000 as their monthly stipend.

 

Mwamu suggests that the County Government of Kisumu under Prof Peter Anyang Nyong’o as the Governor should review the stipend from sh 2,000 to sh 5,000 monthly.

 

Speaking to the Community Health Volunteers at Gita Dispensary within Kajulu in Kisumu East Constituency where the Foundation donated Covid kits to them, Mwamu said the Community nurses also needs medical tool kits as well as umbrellas to help in their work being easy within the community they serve

 

He says they also need gumboots and rain coats during the rainy seasons to make them access muddy places during the course of their duties.

 

“The Community nurses play a greater role within the community in order to provide information on various health issues within the community and this is why they need to get better stipend per month and also be given tools for their work to be made easy,” he says.

 

Mwamu adds that they also need bicycles or motor cycles for easy movement from one household to another they visit for a health talk with members of the community

 

Mwamu at the same time said the current pilot project known as the National Health Information Transformation should fully involve the Community nurses at this its pilot stage because they are the one who will work directly under it once it will be rolled out across the country after being piloted in Kisumu County.

 

During the visit, the Foundation donated Face masks, Hand sanitizers and lessos for the Community Health Volunteers who appreciated the gesture indeed.

 

Mwamu’s sentiment comes barely a few days after the National Government picked Kisumu County was picked to pilot a key national health transformation project.

The project will see the digitization of information on community health services across the country.

 The Ministry of Health has settled on Kisumu to test the ambitious Electronic Community health Information System (eCHIS) which will cost Sh 5.2 billion once completed across the country.

 The project expected to revolutionize the delivery of health care deep in rural parts of the country.

After the pilot phase, it will be rolled out across the 47 Counties and will see Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) supplied with electronic devices such as mobile phones to help eliminate the costly and rigorous paper work in public health facilities.

Speaking during a Breakfast meeting held in Kisumu during the launch of the pilot project recently, senior Ministry of health officials said the project was anchored on the National Strategy for Community health digitization which seeks to strengthen health data management systems.

 Kisumu Governor, Prof Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o says  the project was a big boost to the primary health care in Kenya as it will help address the inefficiencies that has dogged the Primary health care.

“You cannot successfully provide health care without real-time data and accurate information from patients. This project will eliminate the use of exercise books by patients seeking treatment in health facilities,” says Prof Nyong’o.

Nyong’o says as the Chair of the Council of Governor’s Health Committee, he fully support this initiative and they will soon meet the Ministry of health officials to discuss its smooth implementation.

He adds that the County has just recently piloted the Universal Health Care Program, alongside five other Counties across the country.

“Universal health care can only succeed with date driven sound health care system. Without data harvested through a sound health care system, it will be like climbing a tree from the top,” the Governor says.

The Kisumu County Chief Officer, Dr Gregory Ganda says Kisumu has been chosen to pilot the project because of its robust health care infrastructure and interest to invest in Community health.

The County recently launched a health insurance scheme known as Marwa Kisumu Solidarity Health Cover for close to 90,000 indigents (Vulnerable families).

Presenting a justification for the project, a senior Ministry official Dr Maureen Kimani said the paper based old system was cumbersome, adding that the Community based information tools were often out of stock.

“There has been inefficient data collection, analysis and reporting. The paper based tools have also been costly, resulting in delay in timely data submission,”  Dr Kimani says.

 She said the roadmap for the projects starts immediately and will peak in 2025.

Through this system, which the officials say will be easy to use, a Community Health Volunteer will register family members in his or her locality and their data and medical records will be available at local health facilities should they fall sick.

 In an executive summary to the National Community Health Digitization Strategy 2020-2025, the Acting Director General of Health, Dr Patrick Amoth says the ministry was responding to the gaps identified in Community Health service delivery and data management.

 Governor Nyong’o has thanked Afya House for choosing Kisumu to pilot the project as Kisumu becomes the only county picked to pilot this project.