The Mountain Journal
Murang’a County
Government will be rewarding Sh4,000 to expectant mothers seeking deliveries in public
facilities in a strategy to reduce maternal deaths.
In a programme
launched by Governor Irungu Kang’ata, the registered expectant mothers will be
connected with their preferred health facilities through an APP.
The beneficiaries of the programme will get Sh1,000 when they
turn up for a pre-natal clinic during the seventh month and another Sh2,000 after the
delivery.
Photo/ Governor Irungu Kang’ata
Speaking at Kirwara health centre in Gatanga, said the stipend is aimed
at incentivizing expectant mothers to ensure they attend ante-natal clinics and
deliver in the hands of experts to avoid maternal deaths.
The governor said home deliveries endanger
the life of the mother and the child thus need for the county government to facilitate the mothers with money to enable them to attend clinics for the safety of themselves and the inborn
infants.
Photo/ Expectant women at Kirwara District Hospital in Gatanga.
There
are other developmental issues that result from home deliveries that can be
avoided.
“Our
aim is to totally eradicate home deliveries after we have realized that 30
percent of the mothers give birth in the hospitals,” said the governor.
Kang’ata
said the mothers attending antenatal care will be educated on reproductive
health care that helps them make appropriate decisions for themselves and their
unborn children.
Under the
programme, all expectant mothers will be registered with the help of Community
Health Volunteers who will be paid Sh50 for every expectant woman they help
register.
Photo/ Murang’a County Assembly Deputy Speaker Moses Gachui
Dr Samuel Kinyanjui said in 2019, the
local Maternity Mortality Rate stood at 103 against a national rate of 96 and an internationally accepted level of 70.
“This is why we
are eager to get expectant mothers in hospitals as early as possible and ensure
they are consistent in their medical check-ups and deliver in hospitals,” said
Kinyanjui a consultant behind the
ambitious healthcare programme.
The county
government has trained 279 CHVs to use the app and will train 81 more to
facilitate the registration of expectant mothers. Present was health and sanitation
CEC Dr Fredrick Mbugua among other officials.
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