Ksh. 35 m sets aside to improve health services
Bungoma County government has set aside Ksh. 35 million that aims at renovating and modernizing the 24 rural health centers in the county as a move to increase the access to better heath care services. This will now make patients to reduce the long distance traveling in search of health care services.
The devolved government has since its inception constructed 13 new health facilities in addition to 115 and has also recruited 38 new nurses and 132 health volunteers from all over the county.
The Bungoma County Health executive Mr. Stephen Kokonya said that the 250 health workers who were recruited under Economic Stimulus Program have been permanently employed and the sector has also registered 70 new staff members.
Mr. Kokonya also added that the county health institutions had received a consignment of drugs and various equipment valued at Ksh. 60 million from World Medical Relief as part of efforts to expand and improve service delivery in the sector.
He however revealed that Ksh 1.3 billion out of Ksh 1.7 billion allocated to the health sector in the last fiscal year was used to pay salaries to various workers instead of buying drugs and other medical facilities.
The County government has also got funding to expand Bungoma County Referral hospital and other health facilities and it has allocated Ksh. 60 million for expanding the in-patient unit, renovating the administration block and purchasing 80 new beds at the hospital in the move to ease the congestion since the hospital serves up to a hundred thousand patients per week.
Mr Kokonya further stated that the county had received a grant of Ksh. 26 million from the Australian government to renovate the children’s wing. He said that the county still requires Ksh. 4 billion for the second phase of the hospital to build wards, purchase drugs and equipment, erect a perimeter wall and hire specialists.
He also urged the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority to facilitate more supplies to the hospital in order to make the health facility more affordable and convenient to the county people.