Shofco bags two awards for health quality
Shining Hope for Communities staff display their trophy during the Quality Healthcare Kenya Awards in Nairobi. Shofco scooped the award for improving access to health.
A Kibera-based non-governmental organisation, Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco), bagged two coveted awards in this year’s Quality Healthcare Kenyan Awards.
Shofco, which was founded by Dr Kennedy Odede in 2004, competed in two categories against five health facilities drawn from both the public and private sector.
In the access to primary healthcare category, Shofco beat Likoni Sub-county Hospital and Tharaka-Nithi County Referral Hospital.
In the award of excellence in response to Covid-19 pandemic, the organisation came top against Emergency Plus Medical Services, Gertrude’s Children Hospital and Kiambu County Government.
Shofco Director of Health Emma Ingaiza attributed the success in the Thursday awards on “sheer determination to serve the communities around us” by accelerating transformation in urban slums through provision of critical health services.
The organisation has clinics and health centres spread in Mathare and Kibera where they provide healthcare services using Community Health Volunteers (CHV) who help in conducting outreach programmes by sensitising households in the slums.
Prevention of infections
This, she said, has seen communities access to information regarding prevention of infections.
“Through CHVs, we empower communities on how to wear masks; wash hands and dispose of medical waste properly, and also to be aware of what is offered in our clinics and in government facilities,” said Ms Ingaiza.
The organisation currently has six health clinics serving Kibera and Mathare residents as well as mobile clinics serving 17 slums in the city.
Shofco did not stop providing community interventions even at the height of Covid-19 pandemic.
This included primary health and preventative care, pre and postpartum care, child immunisations, comprehensive HIV care, family planning, cervical cancer screening, gender-based violence response, and a child nutrition programme.
“While, essential services in most of the health facilities in the country almost ground to a halt at the peak of Covid-19 pandemic, in 2020, Shofco conducted 999 malaria rapid diagnostic tests and treatments; served 17, 997 patients across six clinics and conducted 2, 559 HIV tests and related counselling,” she said.
Mr Odede pointed out that during the Covid-19 pandemic, provision of healthcare was key to Shofco's holistic approach to help build empowered and healthy generations.
Emergency response activities
“We managed to reach over 2.4 million people with emergency response activities across 22 slums,” he said.
Speaking during the ceremony, Quality Healthcare Kenyan Awards Director Grace Ndegwa said that health services must be designed to meet the needs of the consumers, and at most, should be responsive to their expectations.
Ms Ndegwa said that poor quality of care is still prevalent in both the public and private sectors, emphasising that quality healthcare should always be seen as an issue of social justice and human rights.
“Failing to deliver healthcare services that improve the desired health outcomes for individuals and populations at large, inhibits progress towards a more equitable and just society,” she said.
The Lancet Global Health Commission on High Quality Health Systems affirms that high-quality health systems could save over eight million lives each year in middle- and low-income countries.
