Strategic partnerships crucial to improving delivery of healthcare

The Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NMG    

By PHILIP KIRWA More by this Author

Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) and one its strategic partners, New-York-based Shoe4Africa Foundation, recently handed over site for the construction of Julie Anne Perry Paediatric Cancer Hospital and Harry J. Dyer Burns Hospital to a contractor.

Upon completion, the 162-bed Cancer Hospital and 62-bed Burns Hospital, alongside the existing 120-bed Shoe4Africa Children Hospital, will form a children village complex- the only one of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The project is testament to what Development Partners and Government can collaboratively achieve and MTRH has benefited immensely from such endeavors.

Foremost, a resultant effect of strategic partnership is expansion of access and resources. The government being the main sponsor of public institutions and given the scope and demand, it cannot meet the entire needs of its establishments. As a result of many demands, resources become scarce or inadequate to cater for both personnel emoluments and development projects.

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This calls for innovative strategies by managers of public facilities towards supplementing the government support.

Partnership has also contributed to development of sub-specialisations in various medical disciplines and a large pool of highly skilled Human Resources for Health (HRH) who have been trained either locally or internationally.

This has resulted in collaboration with medical schools and research institutions facilitating knowledge exchange, joint research projects, often leading to improved diagnosis, treatment options and overall patient care.

Further, strategic partnership encourages innovation. For instance, through support by both government agencies and our development partners, we have been able to come up with innovative solutions like telemedicine, Electronic Health Medical Records, Enterprise Resource Planning and Data Analytics tools that has significantly improved efficiency, patient outreach, and data-driven decision-making.

Similarly, in liaison with community leaders and other players in the healthcare space, we have participated in outreach programmes mainly targeted at preventive healthcare, health education, and disease surveillance or control initiatives.

External stakeholders like media and advocacy groups have played a key role in raising awareness about healthcare services, public health issues, and the importance of preventative healthcare.