Embu County receives Sh13m health equipment

The Embu health department on Tuesday received equipment worth Sh13.6 million from USAID and APHIA Plus to boost maternal and newborn health in the county.

The equipment that includes 290 delivery kits, 63 vacuum extractors, 131 foetoscopes, 82 room warmers, 138 pead ambu bags, 142 newborn ambu bags and office furniture which were received by Embu county governor Martin Wambora, will be distributed to 141 health facilities in the county.

Wambora added that the county government had bought equipment worth about Sh6 million that will be used to boost maternal and newborn health.

He at the same time announced plans to partner with Indian investors in the area to get doctors and equipment to help in kidney and cancer treatment.

“Soon, I will be visiting India to look for investors to give us doctors and medical equipment for treatment of kidney and cancer complications. Our patients are tired of spending huge sums of money to seek treatment in India,” he said.

The governor added that local doctors who work at the Kenyatta National Hospital had agreed to provide treatment to kidney and heart patients at the Embu Level 5 Hospital either weekly or fortnightly.

He further noted that the Ishiara Sub County hospital would be upgraded to the status of Kijabe hospital to treat accident patients from Embu, Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Kirinyaga and Kitui Counties.

The move is aimed at de-congesting the Embu Level 5 Hospital from the many boda boda accident patients who are treated at the hospital.

Wambora also said that the ICU, the High Dependency unit at the Level 5 Hospital would be operational before the end of next month.

Meanwhile, APHIA plus Kamili Deputy Director Dr Hudson Inyangala said that the equipment will be installed in hospitals in the remote areas to help reduce maternal deaths and stillbirths which he said stood at 90 each year against the country’s average of 70.

Inyala further said that the county lacked equipment that can treat complications that result from abortions and urged the county government to procure them.

The officials decried the high number of maternal and stillbirths in the county despite having a Beyond Zero mobile van that he said had so far helped about 5,000 mothers in the vast and remote Mbeere region during delivery.