Rashid Abdi, a nurse based at Iresaboru dispensary in Isiolo County, is pictured walking through floodwaters while transporting polio vaccines.

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Nurse Rashid Abdi's selfless act warms hearts of Kenyans

What you need to know:

  • A recent downpour made it impossible for a county government vehicle that Rashid Abdi had used from the Garbatulla vaccine depot to pass through the flooded roads.

A day before the launch of last month’s polio vaccination campaign for children under five years in 13 high-risk counties, a nurse at a dispensary in remote Iresaboru, Isiolo County, was pictured wading through floodwaters while holding a cold box containing vaccines.

A recent downpour made it impossible for a county government vehicle that Rashid Abdi had used from the Garbatulla vaccine depot to pass through the flooded roads. He had to be dropped off about 10km from the Iresaboru dispensary.

Children were vaccinated in Garissa, Kajiado, Kiambu, Kitui, Machakos, Isiolo, Kilifi, Nairobi, Tana River, Wajir and Mandera counties.

Unknown to the 24-year-old, the picture taken by a friend would later trend on social media platforms, warming the hearts of many Kenyans, who hailed him for his selfless act.

“I had walked for several kilometres when the picture was taken,” Mr Abdi told the Nation.

Mr Abdi previously worked in Isiolo Referral Hospital’s pediatric department before he was deployed to Iresaboru in January this year.

At the time of the polio vaccination campaign, his colleague was on leave and he had to traverse flooded villages vaccinating children for five days. He covered 1,100 children.

“When you work in a vast place like this, you have to work extra hard and go out of your way to ensure improved services. This includes walking for many kilometres to attend to patients with terminal illnesses among other complications,” he said.

Worthy sacrifice

Though he lost some of his personal effects, including a mobile phone, during the tiresome and challenging exercise, Mr Abdi says it was worth the sacrifice as the vaccine was crucial to the children in remote villages whose mothers could not visit the dispensary because roads had been cut off by floods.

Having grown up in the area and is familiar with the health issue affecting the community, including maternal and infant deaths, the nurse says he was prepared for the difficult task of “going beyond what the call of duty”.

When he was deployed to the area, he discovered that poor referral systems were undermining safe deliveries and contributing to high maternal and infant deaths.

In most cases, expectant women, deterred by long distances to health facilities, are assisted by unskilled traditional birth attendants, resulting in complications and even the deaths of mothers and children.

“I realised that if patients could be referred in time, we would beat cases of losing mothers and infants as a result of being handled by unskilled traditional birth attendants,” he said in an interview with the Nation.

Iresaboru is among areas grappling with maternal and infant deaths blamed on long distances to health facilities. The nearest health centre is over 49km against the five kilometres recommended by the World Health Organization.

The deaths have also been linked to low education, child marriages, lack of skilled personnel and inadequate health facilities.

Recent statistics show that about 790 mothers die in every 100,000 deliveries in Isiolo.

Community’s help

Community health volunteers and the national government administration team helped the nurse ensure that pregnant women started seeking health services and were helped by health workers during delivery.

The volunteers, besides conducting health education at the grassroots, also ensure expectant women attend clinics and their children are immunised against various diseases. The workers are allocated at least 20 households to attend to on a regular basis.

“Apart from visiting the villages, I work with volunteers in handling specific cases and ensuring early referral for safe delivery at health centres,” Mr Abdi noted, adding that a directive requiring that no home delivery be done without a professional (health) attendant is in force in the area.

Chiefs and their assistants have been cracking the whip on the reluctant, especially parents shying from taking their children for immunisation.

“The community is quickly embracing the culture and the chiefs are ensuring strict compliance so that we arrest the situation,” he added.

The alumnus of Kenya Medical Training College-Nairobi (KMTC) conducts at least five deliveries each month.

County interventions

Isiolo Health Executive Wario Galma said the county had come up with several interventions including the recent purchase of ambulances to take referred patients to sub-county and referral hospitals.

“We have … enhanced referrals of even expectant women and recently upgraded power supply at the Garbatulla hospital, allowing caesarian sections to be performed,” Mr Galma said, adding that maternal deaths had dipped across the county.

Medics had been deployed to the Garbatulla and Merti sub-county hospitals for improved services, he said.

Amid all the challenges, including insecurity, Mr Abdi is passionate about seeing children happy and among his short-term goals is ensuring 100 percent immunisation and zero maternal deaths.

“From the first day I joined KMTC, I have been passionate about kids. There is a huge connection between me and kids and I want to achieve 100 percent immunisation and safe deliveries. I want everyone’s child to get services that I too would want my kids to get,” he stressed.

His gesture attracted accolades from the public, with the majority demanding that such selfless workers be recognised by the county government.

“This is just a glimpse of what health workers go through to make sure we access services. The government should ensure better working conditions and recognise such officers for their selfless work,” Moses Karanja said on Facebook.

The Ministry of Health in May last year recognised the selfless efforts of nurse David Riungu, 38, also attached to the Iresaboru dispensary, after pictures of him navigating floods to help mothers in labour went viral.