Mildmay Kenya: Refurbishment of the Health Centre on Mageta Island in Lake Victoria
To improve healthcare standards and encourage wider use of the clinic, we repaired and refurbished the health centre on Mageta Island.
The health centre is the only one for all 12,000 inhabitants of the island.
Mageta Island has the some of the highest HIV and AIDS prevalence and child mortality rates in Kenya.
Mildmay has been working with communities to deliver HIV-healthcare through support, education and training in remote, impoverished rural areas like Mageta in Western Kenya for over 15 years.
What we did
We repaired and refurbished the health clinic on Mageta Island to increase its use by the Island's inhabitants, leading to improved health of the population.
A facelift of the facility, including repainting, minor renovations like tiling of the maternity unit and the wards to improve on infection control
Minor renovations to partition the rooms for privacy since there is only one general ward that houses everyone that is admitted
Make the mother and child clinic baby-friendly with brighter colours and some murals, which would improve the overall service delivery
Improved support supervision
Regular Continuous Medical Education
Staff accommodation within the facility
Support for more health outreach activity
Mobilisation and sensitisation of the population to improve health-seeking behaviour.
Why we needed to do it
The health centre was poorly equipped, with even essential but basic medical equipment in short supply. The building itself was not in good condition and was not a welcoming place.
A large proportion of the island’s population avoided using it - except for the poorest residents, who didn't have any choice.
The challenge:
Essential equipment and work needed for the health centre
Examination lamp
Adjustable delivery couch
Patient monitor
Movable medication trolley
Infant weighing scale
Fetal doppler
Oxygen cylinders (1 portable)
Electric suction machine
Postnatal beds
Patient cabinets
Incubators
Wheelchair
Patient trolley
Oxygen concentrator
Minor renovations to partition the rooms for privacy since there is only one general ward that houses everyone that is admitted
6 beds ,mattresses and bed linen
Curtains to fit 8 windows
Solar lighting
Make the mother and child clinic baby-friendly with brighter colours and some murals, which would improve the overall service delivery
Regular Continuous Medical Education
Staff accommodation within the facility
Support for more health outreach activity
Expected outcomes
A safer, cleaner and better-equipped facility that will better serve the needs of the community
A robust healthcare system for pregnant women on Mageta Island that copes with emergency complications and where mothers can expect to give birth successfully the vast majority of the time
Increased attendance, with better health outcomes among the general population, but in particular, high-risk groups
Improved education regarding personal health among the general population, but particularly high-risk groups
People in the community live healthier longer lives
Better trained, more responsive and productive healthcare workers will have gained a sense of pride in the improved effects of their work, feeling better-motivated
The health centre is a benchmark for quality local healthcare facilities - a model that can be applied in other rural areas of Kenya.
Health Centre services
Services include basic sexual and reproductive health services (immunisation, antenatal, postnatal, family planning) and other general outpatient services that include prevention and treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases. The health centre is also the base of our Safe Motherhood Project, emergency ambulance and community outreach and educations services.
How much?
Total project cost: £24,500
Refurbishment: £12,600
Equipment: £11,900
Project progress
The interior of the health centre has been repaired, renovated and repainted, with a new tiled floor laid - which is a great improvement on the old earthen/bare concrete floor.
Background
During the 1952–1960 Mau Mau Uprising, the British colonial government used Mageta Island as a forced labour and detention camp due to its isolation in inhospitable territory.
The detention cells were later converted into the health facility that now serves the whole island, established by the national government before the devolution of power and responsibilities to county governments in 2010.
Devolution has resulted in a sporadic and continuous health crisis in Kenya since the allocation for health is mostly for recurrent costs.
There is also an ongoing problem with drug supply and investment in facilities.