The County Government of Embu has announced plans to roll out grassroots health and nutrition education to combat the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
This follows concerns by health experts that NCDs mainly diabetes and hypertension were on the rise following a series of medical camps the Department of Health has been carrying out across the county for the last month.
“It has become apparent from the medical camps that the burden of NCDs is a growing public health crisis that calls for speedy intervention,” said Health Promotion Officer Pauline Nginyo.
Speaking at Kiritiri Level Four Hospital Thursday, during a one-day medical camp, Ms. Nginyo said a healthy lifestyle and diet remain the primary cornerstone of preventing and managing NCDs.
She noted that physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle was one of the risk factors in development of the diseases that are responsible for over 70 percent of all deaths worldwide according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Additionally, the officer said poor diet has also played a major role in development of NCDs through nutritional imbalance that leads to organ damage that drives these diseases.
“It is for this reason that we want to reverse the trend by embarking on community outreach to deliver preventative services including lifestyle and diet education to the doorsteps of residents,” she said.
She added that they believe these messages, if delivered to all residents, will deliver high-impact preventative care. She announced that they project to leverage on public health teams and more so Community Health Promoters (CHPs) as the focal point in the initiative owing to their proximity to people and cultural trust.
Nginyo added that they also plan to incorporate nutritionists in the drive who will be instrumental in training the residents on dietary behavior change as well as upskilling CHPs to ensure they deliver accurate messages.
Kiritiri Level Four Hospital Medical Superintendents, Dr. Kelvin Njeru, reported that they had around 3, 000 patients in their NCD clinic, which underscores the rising prevalence of the ailments within Mbeere South Constituency.
He called on the residents to go for regular screening, saying early diagnosis was key in successful treatment and management as it halts the disease’s progression.
by Samuel Waititu
