By Arnold Ageta
Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo on Wednesday opened a Newborn Unit at Ekerenyo Sub-County Hospital. The unit is the first of its kind in Nyamira North sub-county and was constructed and equipped by the government of Finland.
Addressing the public during the commissioning of the unit, Governor Nyaribo said the unit will go a long way to serve the people of Nyamira North sub-county and neighboring regions. Currently, Ekerenyo Sub-county Hospital serves more than 200,000 people.
The governor announced that in 2022, the County recorded a neonatal mortality rate of 27 per 1,000 live births and an infant mortality rate of 31 per 1,000 live births.
“In a step towards zero deaths at birth, we cannot compromise on quality. We have qualified staff to deliver the best. On the same note, no mother should lose her life while giving birth,” said the governor.
The governor stated that his government is committed to attaining 100 per cent delivery from the current 93 per cent.
“It is also part of our strategy to expand the capacity of this hospital to offer general and more specialized surgeries, away from Nyamira County Referral Hospital,” he promised.
The project, which was made successful through a partnership between the county government of Nyamira and the government of Finland, will offer modern facilities for deliveries.
The Finnish government is also constructing a similar unit at Igena Itambe, a project that will be completed by July this year at the latest.
The Finland representative, Dr. Oskar Kass, who was present during the handing over of the project to the county, said this is the first maternal hospital project that is being implemented in Kenya.
“Women’s rights and maternal health are very important in Finland’s development policy,” said Kass. “It has been a key aspect in our policy documents stretching back decades, and we have good collaboration with Kenya.”
Dr. Kass noted that the government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Health and the county government of Nyamira, has put emphasis on women’s health and rights, and safe births.
The project was implemented by Vemet on behalf of the Finnish government.
Dr. Edward Serem, who represented the Ministry of Health and who works in the Reproductive Maternal Health Division, said the Finnish government is undertaking 20 projects around the country.
“Nyamira’s Ekerenyo Newborn Unit is the fifth project to be opened, and there are several others that are still under construction in the country,” Dr. Serem said.
He explained that the purpose of the projects is to enhance and showcase that high-quality facilities can encourage and attract women to attend antenatal care at a rate of 100 per cent.
“Our aim is to ensure that 100 per cent of deliveries are done in hospitals to prevent preventable deaths. We want to make sure that no woman dies during pregnancy and no child dies during delivery,” he concluded.
