The shame of Baringo’s abandoned health facilities

Soon after the advent of devolution in 2013, Baringo County embarked on the construction of health facilities in far-flung areas to address medical needs of residents.

But due to failure to recruit and deploy staff to run the facilities, more than 50 health centres built between 2013 and 2022 have been lying idle for years,  with some even being used as grain stores, leaving residents suffering as they go without healthcare services.

Tiaty Constituency is surrounded by rolling hills and vast fields, creating a picturesque but isolated setting.

Spanning approximately 6,000 square kilometres, the constituency is nearly half of Baringo County, but access to healthcare here is still a mirage, with the sick having to contend with the bare minimum.

In Lokis location, Tiaty West, out of the three health facilities built by the county government, two dispensaries are not operational, while the only functional facility doesn’t have a nurse.

In the middle of the baked, semi-arid landscape, Korelach health centre stands out. The dispensary was constructed in 2017 at a cost of Sh5 million.

Everything is in place, including staff quarters and an installed water tank. Access to healthcare has been a wish for residents for many years as the village has had no hospital since independence. This facility, built by the county government, was meant to address the health crisis in the area, but it is yet to offer the critical services eight years later.

Solomon Lomeri, a resident, said they were elated when the facility was built, thinking it would save them from the long distances they travel to seek medical care.

“We were expecting that a nurse would be posted and the facility equipped with drugs. But up to now, we still trek long distances to access medical care,” he said.

There is no means of public transport here, except for a few motorcycles that cannot cover the vast remote area.

Those in need of medical services have to travel to Lomut in West Pokot County, more than 70km away.

“One is usually forced to spend more than Sh4,000 to hire a motorbike to get to hospital. It takes more than two hours to reach the destination owing to the rugged terrain,” said Solomon.

According to Lokis chief Johnstone Longiro, sometimes an ambulance charges Sh20,000 to transport a patient from the area to Chemolingot.

“In September, a child suffering from malaria died on the way to hospital. We have lost so many people on the way to hospital. I am calling on the county government to bring a nurse here and give this place attention,” he said.

After lying idle for many years without health workers and drugs, Benson Kaptoo took advantage of the deserted dispensary.

 He told Healthy Nation he is trying to the fill the void.

Benson, who has been working at the facility for more than six months, said he is neither a trained health worker nor a community health promoter.

He occupies one room, where different kinds of drugs are strewn on the shelf. He has been masquerading as a qualified medic, attending to patients in the area.

“The community is desperate and they handed me authority to serve them. I store painkillers and assist patients as they wait to go to hospital,” he said.

Outside the facility, we found women, children and the elderly sitting patiently, all waiting to be served by him. “The most common diseases here are typhoid, sexual transmitted diseases, malaria, kala-azar and skin diseases. I normally prescribe drugs like Amoxicillin,” he said.

Benson also administers injections on patients.

“The injections are for diseases like typhoid,” he said.

Area chief Johnstone Longiro claimed that quack health workers have penetrated the region, taking advantage of vulnerable people in the community.

“In every village, there are people selling drugs to innocent people. The majority are not skilled workers. I am calling on the county government to investigate these people,” said Mr Longiro.

Upon completion, the facility was also expected to improve access to skilled child delivery services.

The only operational hospital in the area is Kresse, which serves over 3,000 residents from the sub-location and additional from the surrounding villages.

The facility, which was built in 2013, has been a lifeline for the residents, drastically reducing the distance and effort required to access medical care.

The dispensary has staff quarters. When a nurse was deployed at the facility, locals were excited that the health worker would provide essential medical treatment to the community, but their joy was short-lived.

According to Longorangole Lokelimak, a community health promoter, the nurse was an alcoholic. “He was always drunk and it was becoming difficult to handle patients. The staff house, where he was residing, was full of alcoholic drinks. We complained to the county government and he got transferred,” said Mr Lokelimak.

No replacement has been posted, forcing residents to travel long distances in search of medical attention.

“The county government is yet to post a nurse six months down the line,” said Mr Lokelimak.

And while the health centre is a ray of hope for ailing villagers, it remains poorly equipped.

“We don’t have electricity, and the nurse would use a torch to assist mothers to deliver,” said Mr Lokelimak.

In Ngaina sub-location, another dispensary stands empty, devoid of staff and equipment. The health centre was built in 2017 at a cost of Sh5 million, but seven years down the line, it remains deserted and unutilised.

Ngaina health centre was supposed to serve more 3,000 residents. 

When the Health Nation team visited the facility, the tell-tale signs of abandonment were evident — every place looked dusty, with dry plants strewn all over.  Some windows had been smashed.

At the corridor of the facility, a woman is busy sorting out dry maize. She sits calmly on the floor with maize cobs strewn on the floor. As she slowly threshes the cobs, she tells us that she lives in a nearby village.

Since the facility has been lying idle, she said, she turned one of the rooms into a granary. After a bumper harvest, this is where she stores the surplus maize produce.

This area is prone to snakebites and the facility would have been a lifesaver for residents.

Many families in the area bear scars as testimony of the danger they live with daily. The lucky ones, like Stephen Moreri,  have survived the snake bites, but he lost a limb.

Stephen was herding the family cattle in a nearby farm when a venomous snake bit him.

“I felt sharp pain and saw blood oozing from the leg. I rushed home and was treated with traditional herbs.”

He was becoming weaker and weaker and had to be taken to hospital, more than 70 kilometres away. The poor road network saw him get to health centre after a couple of hours.

“I hired a motorbike and by the time I reached the nearest hospital in Elgeyo Market County, the leg had swollen. At the health facility, they didn’t have anti-venom drugs,” said Stephen.

With his health rapidly deteriorating, he was referred to Kapenguria in West Pokot County.

“I got to the hospital 15 hours later. Doctors told me the only solution was for the leg to be amputated,” said Stephen.

Afterwards, he struggled to remain mobile without proper equipment or rehabilitation. But through assistance by well-wishers, he was eventually  fitted with a prosthetic leg.

In Sugut, residents are yet to access health services at the local dispensary, five years after its construction. They have been forced to seek treatment in Sigor, West Pokot County, more than 60km away.

According to county records, the dispensary was built in 2019 at a cost of Sh3 million. The facility is fully complete with staff quarters.

“The county government has failed to deploy a nurse and equip the facility with drugs. After lying idle for so many years, the area chief occupies it as his office, which is okay because he’s serving the community,” said Tirioko MCA Sam Lourien.

The situation is no different at Chewera dispensary in Tirioko ward, Tiaty West.

The facility was built in 2013 at a cost of Sh4 million, but has remained idle  for 11 years due to lack of staff and drugs.

At the compound, there is a main building, water tanks, staff quarters and a kiln for disposing of waste.

“During the 2022 campaigns, the then aspiring Governor Benjamin Cheboi was here and promised to reopen it, once elected. But up to now, we are still waiting. We are very disappointed,” Simon Samali, Tirioko ward manager said.

The roof of the building is in bad shape, and some portions of the ceiling have fallen off. Some of the windows are also broken.

Women from the area have now taken advantage of the building to store their farm produce. Teachers who work at a nearby school have also turned the facility into a residential house.

The structure is also a resting place for locals sheltering from the scorching sun during the day.

The facility was meant to offer healthcare services to 24 villages. 

But patients from Chewera seek medication in Sigor, more than 70km away.

In Baringo North, health services in Kapturo have been hampered after the only hospital was closed in December, 2021 due to a spate of banditry attacks.

According to residents, a nurse employed by the devolved unit left in a huff, citing poor working conditions. No replacement has been posted.

The dispensary has become a home for police officers deployed in the region to deal with insecurity.

According to Josphat Lokorio, chairman of the Health Committee in Baringo, the county would have incurred millions of shillings in maintaining, staffing and equipping the more than 50 facilities, yet the money is not available at the moment.

“The Health department is poorly financed. It has been surviving on donor funding, that’s how it has always been,” said Mr Lokorio.

In the 2024/2025 financial year, Sh1.2 billion has been located to the department.

“The county has many stalled project. We are constructing a theatre in Barwessa ward at a cost of Sh1.2 billion. And then there are operation costs. In the first quarter, the budget is exhausted,” said Mr Lokorio.

Healthy Nation has seen a report on the status of health in Baringo County. The report paints the picture of a sick health are system that is in dire need of resuscitation for residents to enjoy the fruits of devolution.

The report notes that despite the county administration making some strides in the past 10 years, health services are below expected standards.

“The county government is struggling. The previous regime left the Health department in a mess. There are many problems that we’re are trying to rectify,” said Mr Lokorio.

The report further highlights that when devolution started, there was a huge focus on the construction of health facilities, but most of the dispensaries were built when there were no supporting amenities like water, electricity, good road network and security, making it difficult to operationalise them.

“We have done public participation about the issue of non-operational hospitals. I want to assure residents of Baringo that the county government is working towards addressing the issue,” said Mr Lokorio.

A lot remains to be done to reduce health inequalities and provide access to those excluded from healthcare services within Baringo County.

But for this to happen, there has to be a stronger and better-functioning health system overall.

Thus, until those challenges get resolved, many Baringo residents will continue to trek long distances to access healthcare services, if their health status can allow it.

[email protected]