Patients with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) have urged the county government of Homa Bay to improve budgetary allocations for procurement of medication to guarantee them good health.
Homa Bay County NCD Advocacy chapter Chairman Kenneth Ouma expressed concerns that in the entire county, they can only access drugs from only four public health facilities supported by non-governmental organizations.
The facilities are the Nyalkinyi and Marindi health centers in Homa Bay Sub-county, Kendu Bay Hospital in Rachuonyo North Sub-county, and Ndhiwa Hospital in Ndhiwa West Sub-county.
At Nyalkinyi, Marindi, and Kendu Bay health facilities, the services are provided by the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), while the Shikuri Foundation supports services for sickle cell patients at Ndhiwa.
Ouma noted that the health facilities screen and avail drugs for NDCs free of charge, but the other sub-counties lack such services.
“What is worrying is that the non-governmental organizations can terminate the services at any time,” Ouma lamented.
Speaking during a meeting convened by the Homa County NCD Advocacy Chapter in partnership with the County Department of Health, Ouma expressed concerns that public health facilities, which are not supported by the NGOs, do not provide NCD patients with drugs free of charge.
Ouma argued that the management of NCDs was too expensive for many families to manage on their own. Thus, it was important for the county government to put strategies in place for supporting NCD patients with drugs.
“Most of the public health facilities lack NCD drugs such as hydroxyurea for sickle cell patients, and this makes life very expensive and unbearable for us,” Ouma said.
He urged the Health Department and the County Assembly to make budgets specifically for NCDs treatment. He argued that the consolidated health budget was not helping them.
“That consolidated budget for health as a docket does not help us. We appeal for special budgetary allocations for NCDs treatment,” Ouma said.
The Secretary General of NCDs Patients’ Organization in Homa Bay County, Tom Mboya, said failure to equip public health facilities with NCDs drugs was putting their lives at risk.
He urged the county government to start NCD treatment in all 12 sub-counties to guarantee residents good health.
“However, this can only be achieved if adequate money is allocated to NDCs in the county budgets,” he added.
Mboya expressed fears that their lives will be at risk if the non-governmental organizations terminate their services at any time.
“We can only be guaranteed good health if the county government offers NCD medication in public health facilities. This can only be achieved if NCDs are prioritized in the county budget in each financial year,” Mboya said.
He said better medication for NCD patients will improve the productivity of Homa Bay residents.
“Economic growth in a county can only be achieved if people are healthy. Even political leaders who need our votes will not get them if we die; hence, access to NCD drugs must be prioritized,” Mboya said.
Trizer Ochieng, a patient, said the high cost of medication for NCDs endangered the lives of patients.
“Majority of the deaths are due to lack of drugs. We appeal for support in medication,” Ochieng said.
By Davis Langat
