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.
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