UNITED NATIONS TEAM COMMITS TO SUPPORT HEALTH PROGRAMS IN KAKAMEGA COUNTY
Kakamega Governor H.E Wycliffe Oparanya Thursday held a meeting with a delegation from United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and This-Ability Fund to chart ways of advancing healthcare programs for women Living with Disabilities (WLWD).
The Governor welcomed the partnership saying that it will supplement programmes put in place by the county to address needs of disabled people. He revealed that the County conducted census of people with disability with the aim of establishing their population.
The outcome of the exercise, he said, helped in guiding the county in specific provisions in the budget to address the needs of the WLWD.
“We have also involved them in development matters and public participation programmes that shape their needs,” the Governor said.
Governor Oparanya added that through the Social Healthcare programme (Imarisha Afya ya Mama na Mtoto) popularly known as ‘OparanyaCare’, the challenge of accessing medical needs by expectant mothers living with disabilities has effectively been addressed.
UNFPA Representative Dr. Ademola Olajide, said they will partner with the County to boost health system’s response to medical needs of women and girls living with disabilities.
He explained that the findings by the organization revealed that such disadvantaged women and girls were discriminated upon while seeking medical services in other parts of the country adding that their collaboration with counties is aimed at ending the biasness.
He said they had partnered with This-Ability Trust to effectively streamline and address welfare of women with various disabilities in the country.
CECM for Social Services, Youths, Sports and Culture Mr. Kassim Were revealed that the county is in its final stages of developing a Disability Bill.
He added that small scale business grants were being provided to people living with disabilities to empower them economically.
His Health Services counterpart Dr. Collins Matemba said interpretors have been employed in hospitals to assist people with hearing challenges seeking treatment in the facilities.