President Uhuru Kenyatta was placed under the spotlight following the release of a damning report by Open Society Initiative of East Africa (OSIEA) on Tuesday, December 10.
Speaking during the launch of a report on the impact of government-supported maternal programs on maternal health outcomes in Kenya, OISEA principal investigator, Owuor Olungah, stated that the situation was dire mostly due to the top-down nature of policies in Kenya.
"Free maternity declaration was a political decision that was made at the apex of political leadership and all public health facilities were expected to provide services regardless of their capability in terms of personnel and resources,” he stated.
OSIEA program manager, Aggrey Aluso, echoed his sentiments going on to reveal that new mothers were discharged from public hospitals in just under 4 hours upon delivery, due to inadequate funding for the government's free maternity program.
He went on to reveal that the situation was so appalling, forcing expectant mothers to pay for basic items such as surgical blades upon admission.
"In some instances, they were asked to pay for cotton wool and blades and other essentials. Both providers and service seekers are in agreement that the increase in those seeking services had compromised quality," Aluso stated.
He went on to narrate a tragic incident of a woman who walked into Homa Bay County Referral Hospital but could not be attended to because the facility was out of blood - which is what she needed.
She kept on being tossed back and forth between Homa Bay and Kendu for at least seven hours, leading to her untimely death.
Several mothers were interviewed during the study, with all confirming that they were discharged just 4 hours after delivering their babies, which is a contravention to the 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation that new mothers should stay in the hospital for at least 24 hours.
An administrator from Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi, who was interviewed during the study, lamented about the sad state of affairs.
"When you have like 60 women in labour wards with only 6 nurses, what can you provide to each of them? The same also applies when it comes to cleaners responsible for ensuring the facility is a germ-free zone. We are overwhelmed," the administrator stated.
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) which includes maternal and child health services is one of the major pillars in President Uhuru's Big 4 Agenda.
