Milestones and challenges that marked the health sector in 2014

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta administers a Rotavirus vaccine during its official launch at the Machakos People’s Park. PHOTO | COURTESY 

By SARAH OOKO

More people on ARVs

The Ministry of Health revised its treatment guidelines as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, allowing those infected with HIV to begin taking ARVs at a CD4 cell count of 500, from the previous 350. This put 214,000 more HIV patients on treatment.

The new guidelines are aimed at making HIV patients live longer and reducing their chances of transmitting the disease to others. Indeed, the WHO statistics show that adopting the guidelines could avert three million HIV-related deaths and prevent 3.5 million new infections by 2025.

Averting childhood diarrhoea

The government launch of a free Rotavirus vaccine mid this year was a major boost in the fight against diarrhoea, a leading cause of child mortality in Kenya.

The vaccine will complement other proven public health interventions like good sanitation, hygiene and access to safe drinking water.

Ebola

This month, the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) Wellcome Trust began human trials of a new Ebola vaccine (dubbed VSV Ebola).

Although there are currently no cases of the disease in the country, research demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in the Kenyan population will facilitate the use of VSV Ebola if the need arises.

WHO estimates that the current Ebola epidemic sweeping across the region has killed more than all other known Ebola outbreaks combined.

Maternal Health

The launch of free maternity services in Kenya yielded impressive results, with the Ministry of Health statistics showing that the number of pregnant women delivering at health institutions rose from a low of 44 per cent in 2009 to a high of 70 per cent in 2014.

When women give birth at hospitals under skilled care, doctors are able to promptly detect pregnancy-related complications such as heavy bleeding, delayed labour or hypertension that are major causes of maternal deaths.

Childhood Immunisation

Childhood immunisation rates soared to 85 per cent, surpassing the WHO target of 80 per cent. These vaccinations have played a key role in reducing child deaths out of preventable diseases such as measles, TB, Polio and pneumonia.
 

Tuberculosis (TB)

Kenya TB treatment success rate was 90 per cent against the WHO target of 85 per cent. As the country grapples with multi-drug resistant TB, effective treatment of the disease has now become paramount to reduce infection rates.

Cancer

Recent statistics from the Kenya Cancer Association show that there are approximately 41,000 new cancer cases in Kenya each year. Out of these, 28,453 people lose their lives yearly, translating to 78 cancer deaths daily.

Cancer treatment is still out of reach for most Kenyans and diagnosis and treatment equipment is only available in few public health facilities.

Medical staff

Health workers are the pillars of a country’s healthcare system. Yet, 2014 was marked with various health workers’ strikes that denied many Kenyans access to skilled health care.

Doctors complained of delayed salaries, poor pay and deplorable working conditions, challenges worsened by devolution of health services. The health workers unions are calling on the government to honour previous collective bargaining agreements to sustainably address the challenges facing medical staff in 2015.

Health financing

Government health funding was only a mere 4.2 per cent down, from the 4.6 percent in 2013. This was way below the recommendations of the Abuja Declaration on Health, signed by African leaders in 2001, requiring governments to commit 15 per cent of their total national budget to health.

The government is now keen on establishing private-public partnerships to address gaps in healthcare financing, especially in the fight against HIV, Malaria and TB.

Visiq ultrasound machine

This new mobile ultrasound technology launched by Philips is ideal for rural settings without electricity and highly skilled medical personnel. It will enable health workers to monitor pregnant women, detect any danger signs beforehand and refer severe cases to higher level hospitals to avert maternal deaths.

BD Facs Presto

The new technology by Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) is used to monitor immunity levels of HIV patients. It is light-weight, low cost and relies on dried down reagents that do not require refrigeration, which is usually a challenge for rural hospitals without electricity.

Lullaby Warmer Prime

This novel technology by General Electric provides warmth to sick newborn babies as doctors examine them to monitor their health status.

Whereas conventional warmers consume around 600 to 700 kilowatts, this GE warmer consumes 158 watts and can thus work with solar energy, convenient for hospitals in remote settings.