Rotary’s Partners Renew Commitment to Maternal, Child Health Project During RI President’s Visit to Pumwani Maternity Hospital
By Eric Ombok
Safaricom Foundation has committed to continue its maternal and child health partnership with Rotary District 9212 at Pumwani Maternity Hospital for two years.“Maternal and child health is very, very close to our hearts. Our partnership with Pumwani and now together with the Rotary District 9212 will continue, because we firmly believe that no woman should die out of the noble act of giving birth to a child,’’ Safaricom Foundation Chairman Joseph Ogutu said during a visit to the facility by Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick.
In 2016 Safaricom Foundation and Rotary District 9212 signed a Memorandum of Understanding to mobilize resources in order to support work in Kenyan communities, Ogutu said. In addition to Safaricom Foundation, Mpesa Foundation is also sponsored by Safaricom Plc and undertake several community projects under Rotary’s seven areas of focus, he said.
Speaking during the same event, Nairobi County Deputy Governor Njoroge Muchiri said the administration of the city is honoured to receive the support of Rotary District 9212 because almost 70% of our the population in the county are from low-income households and therefore not able to afford the cost of quality healthcare.
“It is a very, important facility for us and it is a foremost referral hospital for mother and child,’’ Muchiri said. “ Feel welcome in the county of Nairobi, and I know I’ll be speaking on behalf of His Excellency, the governor when I say feel welcome to partner with us to drive this forward.’’
Kenya’s Ministry of Health recognized the longstanding partnership with Rotary District 9212 in several projects over the years, said Mary Muthoni Muriuki, Principal Secretary in Kenya’s Ministry of Health.
“I am particularly impressed by today’s focus on laparoscopic surgeries and blood donation drives here,’’ Muriuki said in a speech read on her behalf. “These interventions directly address the critical needs in our health care system and align perfectly with our mission to provide quality, accessible health care to all Kenyans.’’
“The fact that we are simultaneously running medical camps across the country with experts from Singapore joining our local medical professionals exemplifies the true spirit of international cooperation, she said. “We extend our heartfelt gratitude for sharing your expertise and time with us and to our colleagues from Singapore, we just want to underscore that this interstate collaboration enriches our medical practice and strengthens our health care delivery systems.’’
Rotary Family Health Days
Rotary District 9212 is currently running three medical camps simultaneously for three days at each of the locations. The Rotary Clubs of Nairobi Muthaiga North, Nairobi Embakasi, Ongata Rongai, Ongata Rongai East, Nairobi East, Ngong Road, Kilimani Alfajiri, Karengeta, Nairobi Samawati, Nairobi Thika Road, Milimani and Nairobii Metropolitan IF; Rotaract Clubs of Nairobi Muthaiga North, Gigiri, Milimani, Nairobi Thika Road, UoN Afya, Nairobi East and Sololo are managing the medical camps at the Pumwani Hospital in Nairobi.
The Rotary Club of Kikuyu is leading cluster which includes the Rotary Clubs of Kabete Springs, Kabete, Limuru, Kiambu and Rotaract Club of Kikuyu. Their medical camp is being held at Gichuru Dispensary in Kiambu.
The Rotary Club of Juja, alongside the Rotary Clubs of Ruiru, Kitui, Utawala and Rotaract Club of Youth Connect Kenya is running the medical camp at Mukurweini Hospital in Nyeri County.
Four more camps by four different clusters of clubs will hold their camps in a few weeks. community health promoter will be engaged in the upcoming camps, Muriuki said.
“I was very impressed to hear about the plans to actually engage our community health promoters in the upcoming activities on capacity building because they are now our main link to the community and to implement primary healthcare,’’ she said.
The government has trained nearly 99,000 community health promoters on basic modules of primary health care and hired an additional 1,750 Community Health assistants under the Universal Health Care program to ensure efficiency and effectiveness, Muriuki said.
“The Ministry of Health is committed to strengthening our partnership with Rotary International,’’ she said. “This includes expanding capacity building initiatives fostering knowledge and exchange in public health and developing sustainable healthcare solutions for our communities.’’
Pumwani Maternity Hospital is one of Nairobi County’s five level five facilities in the city, Nairobi County Health, Wellness and Nutrition County Executive Committee Member Suzanne Silantoi said.
“It’s a centre of excellence for maternal health and child health as well. Under the leadership of the Governor of Nairobi, we changed the governance structure of the facility, and therefore, why we have a CEO. Initially, which used to be run by a medical superintendent who most of the time was a medical doctor, but we found people who are able to view the hospital in a 360 manner,’’ she said.
The county administration plans to extend its neonatal care units to include nine beds and also establish four maternal intensive care units this year, Silantoi said.
Rotary International President in Kenya
“It makes me very proud to be a Rotarian when I know that we are engaged in such activity that does improve the quality of life for people,’’ Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick said. “Improving the health of people does allow them to pursue their goals and enjoy life.’’
Rotary’s involvement in disease prevention and treatment will translate in longer life and increased productivity for the beneficiaries, Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick said during her visit to Pumwani Maternity Hospital.
“It can lower health care costs because with preventive medicine and preventive health care, including regular exercise, balanced diets, routine checkups, we can lower overall health care costs,’’ President Stephanie said.
“It improves emotional wellbeing. When you feel better, you have a positive outlook on life,’’ she said. “We have better social conditions when our health is better, because we can facilitate social interactions in a more meaningful way. So I am proud to be a Rotarian who is part of this movement called Rotary.’’
Rotary District 9212 is committed to continue partnering with Pumwani Maternity Hospital in providing the critical equipment that the facilty requires, Rotary District 9212 Governor Dr. Joe Kamau said.
Despite the significant and the critical role played by that it faces immense challenges in terms of the very high deliveries per day and annually, and we also know that it serves the largest maternity facility in our region.
“We also know that maternal and neonatal deaths are quite a concern to all of us. So the hospital desperately needs a lot of equipment, among them, the incubators, the radiant warmers and other vital equipment,’’ Dr. Kamau said.
Rotarians in District 9212 are determined to transform the hospital into a state-of-the-art maternity facility, he said, Currently the District has a global grant of more than $140,000 for the first phase of the project at the hospital, he said.
