Pfizer Foundation US with support from World vision has funded a 52 million shillings project to promote immunization and family planning in West Pokot County.
The project that is a pilot project in Pokot South and Central Pokot Sub County will be implement in 18 months and intends to benefit over 30,763 women in reproductive age and 10256 children below five years.
Speaking in Kapenguria during the official launch of the program, the project manager Estherlina Moseti said the county was chosen since fertility rate was high and it had low coverage of immunization.
“Fertility rate in the County stands at 7.2%. This is high compare to the national percentage,” she said.
Moseti said there is low uptake of family planning methods in the county and this posed a high risk to mothers during child birth.
“We should encourage our mothers to space their children so that they can take good care of them and reduce cases of mortality,” she said.
Uptake of family planning in the county currently stands at 3.6%.
The program manager said they decided o integrate the two programs together to enable them reach the two target groups.
She said also they are engaging political leadership to ensure the project is successful.
Area leaders who were present, West Pokot governor Simon Kachapin and women representative Regina Nyeris thanked the organization for funding the project in the county saying it will help improve health of the residents.
Kachapin said national and county government alone cannot alone delivery the required needs of its citizens without the help of non governmental organizations.
“Am happy this project is being implemented in this county since it will help bridge gabs in health sector given that this was a marginalized county,” he said.
The county boss asked the organization to spread the program to other sub counties in the county to help reduce mortality rate of mothers and children.
Kachapin also asked politicians to stop misleading residents on the importance of family planning.
“We should encourage our people to use family planning because even if we are less than one thousand people we shall still go to election and elect leaders,” he said.
The county boss assured the organization that his government will support it on ensuring that residents are ware on the importance of family planning.