The County government of Narok has put more efforts to revamp the health sector in a bid to ensure that residents have access to a full range of quality healthcare services through Universal Health Coverage.
While reading his second State of County Address at the County Assembly chambers, Governor Patrick Ntutu on Wednesday said his administration had made several interventions in the health sector to ensure quality healthcare is affordable to all the people.
He said the administration had increased the budget for essential medicine and medical supplies from Sh120 million to Sh360 million in a year.
Ntutu said this is as a result of the increased number of healthcare facilities, and improved infrastructure in the hospitals, that required a constant supply of medical supplies.
“We are working tirelessly to make quality healthcare accessible to every resident of Narok county regardless of their socio-economic status,” he said.
He announced that the ongoing constructions at the Narok County Referral Hospital are almost complete, which is expected to enhance and diversify the provision of healthcare services.
The first-time governor said in the past year, his administration has completed the construction of 44 health centres, 33 maternity wings, and 36 staff units, which are expected to be equipped so that they can become fully operational.
At the same time, the governor said his administration is supporting the Community Health Promoters with a stipend of Sh5,000 each, to motivate them as they offer the much-needed support in the medical sector.
“I recently flagged off CHP kits to our 1,638 community promoters, who are distributed in the eight subcounties. The kits will help to promote the health sector in our county,” he said.
In the education sector, the governor said his administration has completed the construction of 298 classrooms, including a model ECDE centre at Ololulunga ward.
Also constructed are four dining halls, three laboratories, 19 dormitories, 34 staff houses, 31 washrooms, and one multi-purpose hall.
In addition, he said his administration has issued about Sh400 million as bursary to 40,000 needy students in the county.
The house business was led by the County Assembly Speaker Davis Dikirr and attended by Narok Deputy Governor Tamalinye Koech, the County Executive Committee Members, and Chief Officers among others.