County Health commodities . According to Living Goods Director of Health , Living Goods has so far trained over 300 CHVs in Kenya , registering over 30,400 households reaching over 152,000 people . In the next several years , the organization will continue to collaborate with the counties and national government to expand into additional regions and bring better health services to hundreds of thousands of Kenyans .
Dr . Siminyu acknowledges the role of Living Goods in the effective delivery of community health services in the county . He says that the Living Goods model has enhanced the effectiveness of the CHVs and reduced the workload in some link facilities such as Busibwabo Health Centre . “ They have been supportive as primary health givers in offering services such as making referrals ,” he explains . “ We have found that when CHVs are motivated and active in communities , there are less and less clients at the link facilities .’’ By directly visiting households , CHVs have increased access to care for groups who are particularly difficult to reach — such as secluded women , the extremely poor , or the lowest classes of society . “ With their links to the health system , CHVs can also offer an entry point for and at times directly providing health services , such as contraceptive methods , home-based care for people living with AIDS , directly observed therapy of tuberculosis , and communityintegrated management of childhood illnesses ,’’ he stressed .
Leveraging Technology to Deliver Health Impact
The Living Goods model harnesses technology to keep CHVs motivated , organized , and effective . The organization ’ s innovative mobile tools allow CHVsto register and track pregnancies , accurately perform community case management through standard protocols , and follow up with clients in person and via phone . Monthly targets are set for the CHVs and performance is tracked real time using mobile data platform . The mobile phones help overcome geographical and other constraints , and provide innovative practice-based tools that help facilitate increased communication and support between CHVs , their supervisors , and the end clients . Ruth Ngechu , Director of Health Living Goods explains that the organization ’ s effective mobile tools provide higher-quality services and allows managers to actively track and enhance CHVs ’ performance .
Moving Community Health Forward in Kenya
According to Dr . Salim Hussein , Head of Community Health and Development , Ministry of Health has approximately 4,700 established community health units , with 92,000 community health volunteers and 3,600 community health extension workers delivering health services to over 50 percent of the country ’ s population . He explains that since the implementation of community health services began in 2008 , there has been an improvement in immunization , antenatal care , and reduction of childhood diseases . Cases of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension have decreased as a result of intensive screenings and awareness creation .
The Ministry of Health implemented the community strategy after a 2004 evaluation of Kenya ’ s health status yielded unsatisfactory results . The importance of community health services has been restated in the Kenya Health Policy Framework of 2013-2030 as well as in the Kenya Health Strategic and Investment Plan of 2013-2017 . Currently , the Ministry of Health is working with the county governments to develop a Community Health Policy to guide the implementation of the community health services .
The partnership between Busia County and Living Good demonstrates how collaborative and innovative approaches can help build , strengthen , and grow effective community health worker networks . It ’ s a step in the right direction toward a healthier Kenya .
Living Goods community health volunteers during community session in Busia
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