Nakuru: The Nakuru County Executive for Health, Roselyn Mungai, has called for the reinforcement of antenatal care follow-up at the community level to mitigate maternal and perinatal deaths. Mungai highlighted that the protection of mothers and infants extends beyond clinical duties and is a leadership obligation that necessitates improved referral systems, well-equipped facilities, reliable resources, and effective mentorship for frontline healthcare teams.
According to Kenya News Agency, Mungai emphasized the importance of community empowerment in preventing maternal deaths by enabling households to recognize early warning signs, allowing for prompt decision-making. She stated that maternal survival begins within the community, thus underscoring the necessity of strengthening community strategies, promoting regular antenatal care follow-ups, and encouraging early household-level decision-making.
Mungai noted that Nakuru County was committed to enhancing the safety of mothers and newborns by learning from every loss and translating lessons into actionable strategies, asserting that each death is one too many. The County's Department of Health Services has convened a Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) review meeting to unite health workers and managers from across the county in a bid to reflect, learn, and improve maternal and newborn outcomes.
The forum featured a diverse range of professionals, including specialist obstetricians, gynecologists, doctors, midwives, sub-county health management teams, facility in-charges, reproductive health coordinators, and community strategy focal persons. While MPDSR reviews are typically conducted weekly on virtual platforms, physical meetings are held every six months to ensure comprehensive participation from all sub-counties, fostering accountability and service delivery improvements throughout Nakuru.
Child mortality remains a pressing health issue in Nakuru County, with an under-five mortality rate of 41-51 deaths per 1,000 live births and a high neonatal mortality rate of approximately 34-41.9 per 1,000 live births. Key factors contributing to these rates include birth asphyxia, prematurity, low birth weight, and malnutrition.
The county is actively tackling these challenges through enhanced MPDSR meetings, strengthening referral systems, training Community Health Volunteers (CHVs), and enforcing MPDSR protocols to boost survival rates. The 2022 KDHS data revealed the under-five mortality rate at 41-51 deaths per 1,000 live births and a neonatal mortality rate of 34-41.9 per 1,000 live births, nearly twice the national average.
Primary causes of child mortality were identified as birth asphyxia at 29 percent, premature births at 28.7 percent, and low birth weight at 27.1 percent. Additional contributors include complications from malnutrition, inadequately maintained facilities, overcrowding, and insufficient staffing. High parity, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and low antenatal care utilization were also identified as significant factors, alongside socio-economic issues such as cultural practices, home deliveries, and high poverty rates.