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Lamu to give cervical cancer, Covid vaccines in all sub-counties

A health stakeholders workshop in Lamu County on January 16, 2024.

By Farhiya Hussein | Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Immunisation will take place in hospitals and clinics in all the sub-counties in Lamu.

The Lamu County health department will continue to administer cervical cancer vaccinations to girls aged nine to 14, alongside Covid-19 vaccinations, to curb the virus' transmission.

At a workshop on Tuesday, the county's Health executive, Mbarak Bahajaj, urged the public to get vaccinated to strengthen their immunity. Immunisation will take place in hospitals and clinics in all its sub-counties.

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Mbarak further told the meeting of stakeholders from various sectors that they were setting up isolation centres for patients with infectious diseases in all major hospitals. This, he noted, will eliminate the need to transfer the patients from facility to facility, thereby help to contain disease outbreaks.

Lamu County Health executive Mbarak Bahajaj addresses a stakeholders' workshop on January 16, 2024.

Draft bills

Meanwhile, the health department, in collaboration with the Council of Governors, is developing two draft bills meant to improve service delivery in hospitals. These are the Facility Improvement Funds Bill and the Health Services and Community Health Bill.

Once the grants go through, the department, through its hospitals, will keep the money paid for various services and use it to buy medicine or repair equipment, eliminating the need to wait long for county allocations. Mbarak noted that services are frequently delayed by a lack of funds, so the move will improve performance and the availability of resources.

In addition, he said, doctors and other health workers can provide medicare at home.

Finance executive Mohamed Bwana called for cooperation to seal loopholes that lead to embezzlement of funds.

The process of creating a draft of these grants has brought together representatives from the CoG and Lamu's health and finance budgets.