WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SWALLOW A PILL

1.The  tongue moves the pill into the esophagus which connects the mouth to the stomach.

2. Once the pill reaches the stomach, the stomach acid dissolves it.

The dissolved medication passes into the stomach into the small intestine

3. It is then absorbed into the blood vessels surrounding the small intestine.

4. Once the medication enters the bloodstream, it circulates and is 
carried to all the organs of the body to help the healing process.

STORY BY: T. A. F.
The Kenyan Medical Freelance Journalist
medjournalnairobi@gmail.com.

TRADITIONAL ABDOMINAL MASSAGE: A RISKY CULTURE

Jumwa Jefwa, a mother of nine is one of the many women in her community who opt for traditional abdominal massage during pregnancy over visiting health centers for checkups, not knowing the risks it poses.

Her friends had come to visit her, at least to comfort and to console her. About three weeks ago while she began having severe pains with her tenth pregnancy, Jumwa would get to the hospital, only to be given news that her baby had died.

John Mutsimi, a gynecologist says, the doctor opened her and found she had a ruptured uterus.

She says it is a traditional practice that is deeply rooted in her community not because of any financial reasons but because it is something many have become accustomed to.

Traditional abdominal massage is a practice that has been there over the years in many villages around the country.

It is the practice that many do not yet know can have negative impacts. The traditional birth attendants massage pregnant women even in their 6-8th months.

Dr. Mutsimi says the worst situation they've had is where the mother had a fractured uterus and the baby's limbs were broken. He says, on average about 3 women flock hospitals in the county every month with complications of a ruptured uterus mostly as a result of traditional abdominal massage.

According to the Kenya Demographic in Health Survey 2014, nearly 50% of women in rural areas seek the services of traditional birth attendants and give birth at home.

Among the counties with the lowest  professional antenatal care according to the survey include, Tana River, Marsabit, West Pokot, Samburu, Turkana and Wajir. And this is mainly as a result of a shortage of professional health practioners as well as long distances from health facilities.

Women like Jumwa continues to deal with the consequences of poor antenatal care, it is time health policy implementers sought to expand the services to the far flung rural areas.

STORY BY T.A.F.

The Kenyan Medical Freelance Journalist

E-mail: medjournalnairobi@gmail.com

HEALTH SUMMIT: PRESSURE OVER ILL-TREATMENT OF CANCER PATIENTS AT KNH

Medics, leaders and members of the public gathered at the State House in Nairobi to discuss the state of the health sector.

This followed a scene in which patients who had travelled hundreds of kilometers to access treatment at the kenyatta National Hospital spends their nights on the cold hospital floor and corridors.

“We cannot chase people away from my institution, whether they sleep on corridors or somewhere . They come from far and they must stay in the security area or in the comfort with a little discomfort of our institution”

The government admitted that there was a problem that health Cabinet Secretary, Cleophas Maillu, was on the way to form cancer centers to be set up in various regions.

“We are going to have cancer satellite treatment centers regionally in Nyeri, Nyanza, Coast and in the Rift Valley apart from Kenyatta National Hospital and Moi Referral hospitals” says Maillu.

This news should have been something to celebrate about except it wasn’t the first time that cancer centers had been mentioned as the solution to the problem of patients who flocked the referral hospital to make use of the sole cancer machine in a public hospital.

It was Maillu’s predecessor James Macharia who first mentioned the plans to establish the cancer centers. He would leave the ministry before the plans came to fruition.

The mention raises the question about the ministry's timelines. According to the health principal secretary Dr. Nicholas Muraguri, plans to setup the centers are on course.

In 2015, the government leased medical equipment at a cost of Khs. 38 Billion but all of it was diagnostic. Next year 2017, the government is looking to set up two additional radiation centers.

“Part of our plans is to expand and access to cancer treatment where we planned to expand our services in KNH by having three new radio therapy machines”

Setting up the centers, he says, is part of a 3-5 years plan starting this year.

During his visit to the country in July this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi donated a modern radio therapy machine while pledging to help kenya construct a top-notch cancer treatment center at KNH.

The state house health summit also discussed gains and losses made in the sector over the last three years. Noting that infant deaths have dropped while over 90% of patients suffering from tuberculosis are now receiving treatment.

The health summit is a fifth in a series of discussions hosted at State
 House on the status of various sectors. 

STORY BY: T.A. F
The Kenyan Medical Freelance Journalist
E-mail: medjournalnairobi@gmail.com

THE MAKUENI UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE PLAN

Makueni county had been celebrating a milestone they have made in the health sector.

The program that will allow everyone from the county to access free medical care, it's called the Makueni Universal Healthcare Plan.

Nine sub-county hospitals from the county's referral hospitals have been identified and equipped to provide the Makueni Universal Health Care services and others are being upgraded.

All bills incurred by patients in the hospitals will be cleared by the county government but each household will be paying Kshs 500 as part of the the healthcare scheme.

According to the county government of Makueni the health scheme is not meant to replace the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) but rather supplement it.

Approximately Kshs 6.7 Million has been used in the first phase of the program that was rolled out in May 2016 targeting people aged 65 and above.

The medics reiterated that very soon everyone from Makueni county will be accessing free medical care.

According to Dr. Andrew Mulwa, Minister of Health, Makueni, “This is a model that is attainable, achievable and is possible”.

The county's health officials have had three pillars guiding them in an effort to help transform the health sector:

Providing quality services through employing qualified personnels, and offering on the job training breaking the financial barriers that has been  blocking many from accessing medical care and ensuring there's uninterrupted supply of drugs.

“We have learned our lessons and it has been very bitter”, says Pro. Kivutha Kibwana, Makueni Governor.

Makueni county is the first in Kenya to offer this service and it is expected that it will cater for a majority of its citizens who have been relying on pocket financial of healthcare and reduced expenditure on the part of the locals.

STORY BY: T.A.F
The Kenyan Medical Freelance Journalist.

E-mail: medjournalnairobi@gmail.com

M-TIBA: KENYAN AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE PLAN

Many Kenyans have no health insurance or access to mechanisms to pay for their basic healthcare.

This is a situation which is more common in low income homes where mothers and children are more particularly vulnerable.

It is this reason that Safaricom in partnership with other corporates have rolled out M-Tiba technology to help arrest serious healthcare issues.

The M-Tiba technology allows primary care and medicines to be accessed more quickly by many Kenyans.

It is through this kind of partnership that affordable healthcare is brought to Kenyans especially to people who can't afford to have the company insurance.

The National roll out of M-Tiba technology is now underway with 45,000 people already registered and 60 healthcare providers in Nairobi is now operational.

The first outlets in Kisumu, Siaya and Mombasa have been signed up.

The M-Tiba Mobile health wallet developers in collaboration with Safaricom allows users to send, save and receive funds to access healthcare services using their mobile phones.

STORY BY: T. A. F.
The Kenyan Medical Freelance Journalist
medjournalnairobi@gmail.com.