Private car owners to evacuate pregnant women in new programme
From right: M-mama programme director Ms Dorothy Koech, Tharaka-Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki's wife Margaret Muthomi and Tharaka-Nithi County Health executive Dr Gichuyia Nthuraku addressing media after a consultative meeting in Chuka town on November 22, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Tharaka Nithi officials led by Governor Muthomi Njuki’s wife, Margaret Muthoni, held a consultative meeting with M-mama Programme Director Dorothy Koech on the rolling out of the programme.
- Local car owners and taxi drivers will be recruited and trained to provide emergency transportation services when ambulances are not available
Tharaka Nithi County is among the first devolved units set to benefit from the M-mama initiative that is aimed at curbing maternal mortality in the country.
The programme will be funded through a partnership between the government, Vodafone, Usaid and M-Pesa Foundation. It will be rolled out in Tharaka Nithi County tentatively in January. The national government plans to implement it in all the 47 counties within three years.
The programme involves establishing an elaborate emergency transportation system for pregnant women that will ensure that the women are reached and rushed to health facilities within the shortest time possible and safely.
Recently, Tharaka Nithi officials led by Governor Muthomi Njuki’s wife, Margaret Muthoni, held a consultative meeting with M-mama Programme Director Dorothy Koech on the rolling out of the programme. Local car owners and taxi drivers will be recruited and trained to provide emergency transportation services when ambulances are not available. The service will be accessed through a toll-free number.
Mrs Muthomi welcomed the programme, noting that though the number of maternal deaths has reduced over time due to improved antenatal care and hospital deliveries, deaths are still a concern not only in Tharaka Nithi County but also across the country.
She said the devolved government will support the programme because it will save the lives of many pregnant women by enabling them to reach hospitals quickly.
“We are lucky because we are among the first counties which are going to benefit from this noble initiative which will greatly reduce maternal mortality,” said Mrs Muthomi.
She said both national and county governments are not able to provide emergency services to all cases because of limited ambulances and that is the gap which the ma-mama initiative is coming to fill.
According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), maternal mortality is at an estimated 355 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Mrs Muthomi said the health of pregnant women greatly determines the fate of the unborn baby and the general health of the family and community at large. She said through the toll-free number, the pregnant women or their caretakers will be reaching out to the standby nurses who will connect them with the recruited drivers referred to as the ‘Community Emergency Drivers’.
Tharaka Nithi County Health executive, Dr Gichuiya Nthuraku, said one of the main challenges that lead to maternal death is the lack of delayed health services mainly due to the lack of emergency transportation services. He said implementation of the M-mama programme across the 47 counties led to a decrease in maternal deaths because it will reduce delays in reaching the hospital and receiving the appropriate care.
He said community health promoters who are already in every village will also be critical in the implementation of the programme. Dr Nthuraku also noted that if there is a quick emergency response, it is possible to save the lives of most of the pregnant women experiencing complications. “If we efficiently handle the emergency cases of pregnant women, it is possible to save the lives of the mother and the unborn child, and this is what the initiative aims at,” said Dr Nthuraku.
