Health & Nutrition

ChildFund, through its local partner, Mount Kilimanjaro Child Development Programme (MKCDP), conducts monthly health outreach clinics in the rural and hard-to-reach areas of Kajiado County, Kenya. These communities lack local healthcare facilities, and families often have to walk for hours to reach one under normal circumstances. Public transportation does not extend to the most remote areas of Kajiado County. Vehicles that can make the journey require four-wheel drive and must traverse shallow rivers and steep hills.

During these clinics, men and women receive general health exams, while children are screened for malnutrition and other common ailments. Children also receive vitamin supplements and routine vaccinations for diseases such as MMR, polio, and rotavirus. A pharmacy, stocked with medication donated by the Kajiado County Government, is available, and all patients receive deworming medication. ChildFund and MKCP facilitate and provide transportation for the clinical officers and community health volunteers who help run the clinic. In cases where staff and volunteers encounter severe health issues, MKCDP often provides funds for transportation and treatment at an appropriate healthcare facility within the county. Typically, anywhere from 100 to 250 patients receive care at each outreach.

Today’s outreach, attended by 111 patients, was conducted in a village that is a 10-mile walk from the nearest health facility. “It’s good to have such services coming nearer to us because people do not always have money to go to [the nearest town], and when these doctors are nearby, they get treatment at no cost,” says Simeon Risie (not pictured), the village elder and traditional leader of the area. “People here have malaria, joint pains, muscle aches, stomach problems. This is now the third time ChildFund has held a health outreach here. Many people have benefited from it, and very serious cases have been attended to.”
Charles Mchori, the clinical officer in charge today, says: “ChildFund has helped the community in various ways, such as organizing these outreaches and assisting needy children in schools by paying their fees and providing the necessary supplies for their education. So, thank you, and my prayer is this: ChildFund, with the support we receive from you, we humbly request that we continue receiving more of this. It’s very helpful to the community.”