Migori County Health CEC Caleb Opondi has officially flagged off 131 specialized hospital beds and mattresses at the Migori County Referral Hospital.
The Sh3 million consignment, procured through the Facility Improvement Fund (FIF), will be distributed across 131 Level 2 (dispensaries) and Level 3 (health centers) facilities spanning the county’s 40 wards.
This comes just days after a young mother who went to deliver lost life in unclear circumstances at Migori County Referral Hospital.
The initiative directly supports the Department of Health’s mandate to ensure every local clinic has at least one functional bed dedicated to assisting safe deliveries.
Speaking during the flag-off ceremony, Opondi emphasized that the vast majority of Migori’s population relies heavily on lower-level facilities because they are located within villages and remain closest to the community.
“Many deliveries happen in Level 2 and 3 facilities because they are the ones near members of the communities,” Opondi explained. “And this is going to improve maternal and newborn care.”
Community Health Promoters
The county’s proactive healthcare strategy heavily relies on mapping out expectant mothers and utilizing Community Health Promoters (CHPs) to monitor pregnancies, encourage antenatal care, and aggressively discourage unsafe home deliveries.
According to the county health boss, these concerted efforts have yielded historic results, with Migori recently marking a milestone of going roughly 150 days without losing a single mother during childbirth.
Mr Opondi further noted that plans are underway for a second consignment of medical equipment to fully equip every local center.
Addressing intense public scrutiny and recent political narratives regarding acute water scarcity within the county’s medical network, Opondi confirmed that the county now mandates a reliable water supply before any public health facility can open.
“A delivery room without constant, clean running water is a hazard to both the mother and the newborn,” Opondi stated.
“As we flag off these beds, we are concurrently executing Governor Ochillo Ayacko’s directive to drill solar-powered boreholes across targeted clinics that have historically suffered water scarcity.”
The department is actively transitioning away from rain-fed storage systems, which dry up during hot seasons. By partnering with the county’s Water and Energy dockets, the administration aims to ensure that every delivery bed is backed by a functional, solar-powered water system.
Facility security and land disputes
The Health CEC also clarified swirling reports concerning clinic land ownership, stating that most Level 2 and Level 3 clinics sit securely on land generously donated by public-spirited community members through succession processes, or on government land requiring formal letters of allotment rather than standard title deeds.
Addressing the ongoing land dispute surrounding the Ondong Dispensary, Opondi clarified that the disagreement is strictly between neighboring community members rather than with the county government.
The matter is currently in court, and the county is monitoring the situation to resume developmental support as soon as the dispute is legally resolved.
Reaffirming readiness from the ground, Rongo Sub-County Medical Officer of Health (MoH) Bernard Onoka, speaking on behalf of the county’s eight sub-county medical officers, dismissed claims of severe medical shortages.
According to Onoka, local stores remain highly stable, boasting a solid supply of drugs, pharmaceuticals, and non-pharmaceuticals,existing medical commodities can comfortably sustain county clinic operations for the next four months.
He also pointed out that medical teams are actively taking mobile ultrasound services directly to the grassroots so pregnant women can receive crucial scans at their nearest dispensaries.
All newly opened clinics have been successfully staffed with nurses and clinical officers, with additional staff recruitment anticipated in the coming month.
