The County Government of Kakamega in partnership with USAID Boresha Jamii has launched a pilot project dubbed ‘Barasa Mashinani’ medical camp aimed at offering free medical and other government services to learners and their parents across the 60 wards in the county.
In its pilot project held at Shirugu Mugai Ward recently, the initiative attracted quite a number of students from especially primary and secondary schools who received free medical services for their various ailments.
The medical camp gathered specialists in dental, chronic diseases and common ailments was a huge success considering the huge turnout of young people in uniforms who took advantage of it to at least know their health status.
The chief executive officer of the Barasa Mashinani initiative Stephen Shitanda said that the medical camp comes at a time when many families are facing hard economic conditions hindering them from accessing medical attention.
“We are mesmerized by the outcome and as you can see, the young mothers and school going children are the majority. We have also noticed that our young people are not afraid to undergo HIV/Aids testing with many also visiting our guiding and counselling experts to seek professional answers to their predicaments.”
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Mugai Shirugu Ward member of the county assembly Peter Wanami lauded the exercise as a success noting that many residents had received treatment and other government services at a fee hence reducing the cost of travelling to the county headquarters to receive the same.
We have the Huduma Centre with us where mothers with school going children who have not registered for their birth certificates, identification cards and Kenya Revenue Authority pins can easily walk in. We requested the governor we have such medical camps in all the wards within the county and we are lucky that it all started here, let us all embrace it and support the programme for a better and healthier tomorrow.
The county administration which was represented by the chief officer of health docket who assured the residents that it was committed to ensure that health issues are addressed whenever they arise as health was among the key pillars of the governor’s manifesto.
By Andanje Wakhungu
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