Kenya: Lodwar Clinic and Turkana Drought Relief and Mobile Medical Outreach Project
1,423 Children Fully Immunized: Q1 2019
April 01, 2019
Emma Kiriungi
Summary of Activities
During this reporting period (January, February, and March 2019), we successfully carried out a total of 72 integrated outreach activities at the selected sites in the three sub-counties. These were made possible with support from RMF and the MOH.
Essential health services provided in the different regions:
Central Turkana
- 1,312 (940 children and 372 pregnant and lactating mothers) received nutrition services.
- 1,098 patients were treated for general ailments.
- 647 received deworming services.
- 98 children were fully immunized.
- 206 pregnant mothers received antenatal services.
- 356 received Vitamin A supplementation.
- 2,217 were reached with public health messages through health education outreaches.
North Turkana
- 1,179 (946 children and 233 pregnant and lactating mothers) received nutrition services.
- 1,201 patients were treated for general ailments.
- 1,243 received deworming services.
- 641 children were fully immunized.
- 409 pregnant mothers received antenatal services.
- 567 received Vitamin A supplementation.
- 2,667 were reached with public health messages through health education outreached.
East Turkana
- 1,456 children were seen, of which 684 received immunizations, and were 258 treated for general ailments.
- 164 clients were given family planning (FP) services.
- 39 children were found to be malnourished, of which 7 had severe malnutrition and 36 had moderate malnutrition.
Full Report
Results &
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Nutritional Services
Fighting Malnourishment
During the two-month reporting period of February and March, many women and children have benefited from the outreaches through nutrition services and Vitamin A supplementation. Using MUAC (mid-upper arm circumference), clients were categorized as having normal nutritional status or being severely or moderately malnourished. A total of 2,534 children and pregnant and lactating mothers (PLM) benefited from nutritional support. Kerio division is still the main area of focus, as many clients screened were in the severely malnourished category. Our teams are also monitoring the severe cases at Kerio Health Centre and recording any improvements. Other cases are also being managed at various health facilities conducting these outreach activities. A total of 923 people received Vitamin A supplementation.
Education
Promoting Health
Health promotion and education play primary roles in disease prevention and pave the way for better healthcare within the community. We have achieved milestones in the performance of different indicators by laying a stable foundation in this sector. During each outreach activity, our dedicated staff begins by giving health talks to the target population. This empowers the community with quality knowledge on how to protect themselves from a number of health-related conditions. During this reporting period, the community was educated on a number of topics, including MNH, immunization, public and environmental health, and HIV and other STIs. All talks are aimed at curbing the spread of health-related conditions by putting in place adequate control measures to mitigate these. We managed to reach a total of 5,066 individuals with such messages during this reporting period.
Antenatal Services
Caring for Women
In the effort to promote quality services for pregnant women, reduce maternal mortality rates, and improve pregnancy outcomes, outreaches to disadvantaged communities play a key role. During this reporting period, we managed to provide antenatal services to 615 pregnant women. Many women received a tetanus toxoid vaccination, IFAS, and Vitamin A supplementation. This is an indicator that we are closely monitoring, especially 4th ANC coverage, with the goal of improving skilled deliveries performance and eventually a reduction in maternal mortality rates.
Some of our outreaches also offer family planning services to women of reproductive age. During this reporting period, 141 women in East Turkana were provided with family planning services.
Immunization
Reducing Disease
The project has also enabled communities in remote areas to access vaccination as a way of improving the immunity of our children. During this reporting period, we have been able to fully immunize 1,423 children. As a sub-county, we have noted a remarkable improvement in FIC achievements. Additionally, other children have benefited from various immunization antigens like OPV3, Penta 1, Penta 3, and Measles 3.
Deworming Services
Reducing Parasites
A total of 1,890 clients received deworming services. This is a boost in our performance, given that in the previous quarter as a sub-county we had performed dismally in this indicator. With our continued partnership, we anticipate tremendous improvements as we reach more people in remote areas.
General Treatment
Treating Patients
One of the key activities within this project is management of minor illnesses and other conditions affecting the target population. The county government has been supportive in terms of providing essential drugs to enable us to offer treatment for conditions like malaria, respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, skin conditions, and eye infections. This has contributed to a reduction in mortality caused by these conditions. During this reporting period, we were able to offer treatment to 2,548 clients.
Background
& Objectives
Background
After responding to a September 7th, 2009 NY Times article by Jeffrey Gettleman, which highlighted the life threatening impact of the drought in Northern Kenya, Real Medicine Foundation coordinated a supply chain for water and food aid, and medical support to the region. We were able to provide a 4-week supply of food and water to 4,500 persons in severely drought affected regions of Turkana, Kenya where it had not rained in 4 years.
Objectives
- Provide Medicines and Medical supplies to meet the needs of the targeted population
- Increase Mobile/Outreach Clinics in the remote villages
- Provide Medical Services at the Health Facility in Lodwar Town:
- Supporting the physical/medical needs of the targeted population
- Home visiting
- Referrals of patients needing advanced care to tertiary care hospital, and HIV and TB government clinics
- Teaching about and providing nutritious food
Numbers
Served
Direct Beneficiaries
REPORTING PERIOD TOTAL
- 2,534 (1,929 children and 605 pregnant and lactating mothers) received nutrition services.
- 2,548 were treated for general ailments.
- 1,890 people received deworming services.
- 1,423 children were fully immunized.
- 615 pregnant mothers received antenatal services.
- 923 received Vitamin A supplementation.
- 164 women received family planning services.
- 5,066 people received public health messages through health education outreaches.
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