The Kirinyaga County government has embarked on the building of 19 stalled dispensaries in the region in a bid to improve healthcare.
Governor Anne Waiguru said she wants the dispensary projects completed so that residents can benefit from healthcare services without having to travel long distances to access hospitals.
Ms Waiguru said her administration is determined to ensure that the region has enough facilities where residents can access quality healthcare services.
The governor noted that with enough dispensaries, residents do not need to travel to higher level hospitals, which are very far, to seek treatment.
Some of dispensaries lined up for construction are Joshua Mbai, Kiamugumo, Kiandai, Kiamwathi, Kavote, Ndaba and Kianjiru.
Residents have been complaining that since the projects stalled, the county government has not been taking the matter seriously.
But according to a resident, Gibson Njagi, they are now hopeful that their problems will come to an end as they will not been travelling long distances to seek treatment once the dispensaries are complete and become operational.
Once complete, the dispensaries are expected to serve at least 4,000 residents from different villages across the region
County Health Chief Officer of Health Muriithi Nyaga said that residents will access outpatient services that include TB treatment, pre-natal and post-natal clinics and pharmacy services, among others, from the dispensaries.
He added that residents will benefit from early detection of diseases that may require further investigation and treatment at referral hospitals.
Last year, the county announced that Health department records showed that it had a high TB burden, with drug resistant cases having increased by 50 per cent between 2016 and 2018. This was attributed to poor adherence to the prescribed regimen.
With the new dispensaries, the county hopes to reduce TB prevalence through early detection and easier access to treatment by residents.
Governor Waiguru said that TB remains a major public health problem and the leading killer of people living with HIV/Aids, despite the fact it is a preventable, treatable and curable.
She said an isolation ward which has been set up at the Kerugoya County Hospital will go a long way in ensuring adherence to TB treatment plans as well as proper medical assessment.
Currently, the ward is being used as a Covid-19 isolation centre, but the governor said will be later be reverted to a TB centre.
The Kirinyaga governor said that apart from improving TB treatment, the isolation ward will reduce the disease’s burden among health staff and the community at large.
