Kirinyaga Community Health Volunteers Set to Get Sh5000Monthly Stipend

Kerugoya, Friday May 26, 2023

KNA by Pauline Wanja

Kirinyaga County Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) are set to receive a Sh5000 monthly stipend each in a cost sharing arrangement that will see the national and county government fund the program. 

The county government has factored in the health volunteers’ remuneration in next financial year’s budget that will see about 2,000 CHVs start receiving their pay from July this year.

The volunteers have since been given a new reference term and they will now be called Community Health Promoters (CHPs).  

They will be equipped with standardized medical kits holding tools that can undertake basic tests such as for blood pressure, sugar levels and temperature. 

Kirinyaga County Governor Ann Waiguru said that the county government shall be providing Sh2,500 while the national government provides an equal amount that will enable each of the workers to get a stipend of Sh5,000 per month. 

The governor observed that the volunteers form a critical component of healthcare service delivery in the county since they are the first point of contact for patients in the community.

She added that they play an important role in promotion of healthy communities through educating the public on disease prevention and control as well as hygiene. 

Rubi Mohammed, one of the volunteers in Kutus town, said the stipend will be a relief to them considering the burden they carry in the course of their community service.

He said though many of them have relentlessly served their communities for years, they have been encountering challenges such as getting money to buy airtime or to meet transport costs. 

“We are now very happy that the government has decided to give us some money to facilitate our work. It will go a long way in enabling us serve our communities better. The stipend will enable us meet the cost of airtime that we use when coordinating our services in the grassroots,” said Mohammed. 

She pointed out that their work revolves around visiting households and finding out whether there are health issues that need to be addressed. In case of situations that they cannot address at home, they refer the cases to the nearest health facility for management.

Each of the volunteer is attached to a level two health facility within the locality and also works together with the county’s Community Health Workers. 

Mr Njeru Thiga, another health volunteer, said that each of the community health workers takes care of around 100 households. He said that he has dedicated Tuesdays and Fridays as the days he visits them but he is always available to attend to any emerging issues any day. 

“I believe when my community is healthy, I am also healthy,” said Njeru. 

The County Executive Committee Member for Health, George Karoki, acknowledged that community health volunteers help a great deal when it comes to making follow-ups on patients on mandatory treatment for ailments such as T.B. and HIV.

Such follow up care, Karoki added has led to reduction of cases of people who suffer or die as a result of absconding medication.  

“They also follow up on pregnant women to ensure that they are attending their antenatal clinics accordingly and that they deliver their babies in a health center. After delivery, the volunteers also make follow ups to ensure that the mothers attend postnatal clinics and that their babies attend the child welfare clinics,” Karoki said. 

He said that the department of health has been training community health volunteers on how to offer basic homecare services for patients adding the role they played was very vital since they are able to penetrate the community and offer the much-needed public health education, which has had a huge impact on reduction and prevention of many diseases.

Courtesy ; K. N. A