HOMA BAY: Health facilities in Homa Bay County have faced a significant setback following the withdrawal of support from USAID-funded projects that provided essential services in the health sector. The county relied heavily on USAID, particularly through Liverpool Health (LVCT), which assisted health facilities in terms of HIV prevention, care, and treatment.
According to Kenya News Agency, the County Chief Officer for Medical Services, Dr. Kevin Osuri, reiterated that Homa Bay was one of the counties with the highest HIV burden, and partners such as LVCT have been instrumental in providing care and treatment for clients with HIV and associated diseases like tuberculosis. The Non-Governmental Organization also catered for the digital medical records and staffing but with the ‘stop work’ directive issued by the U.S. government, the county is now actively seeking ways to fill these gaps.
This directive has left many USAID employees associated with health facilities in Homa Bay without jobs, as the county also attempts to recruit more staff to replace them. ‘That directive has hit us hard, and we have since stopped all partner-supported staff. Many have left, and it is unclear what will happen to them, whether their contracts have ended or if the U.S. government will decide to review their contracts or re-employ them at some point in the future,’ Dr. Osuri stated.
Many personnel in various public health facilities were employed by the Ministry of Health-LVCT, including clinical officers, nurses, health records and information officers, human resource officers, and accountants. Dr. Osuri further emphasized that the county is rapidly moving to integrate services as a mitigating measure against this setback. ‘We have integrated other services, including HIV care and malaria, so our clients will receive services from the same location,’ he explained.
He expressed concern noting that LVCT’s geographical coverage was extensive, impacting every sub-county, unlike other partners. LVCT was committed to improving health systems and strengthening the capacity of the county to provide sustainable services. The doctor confirmed that other partners, such as M©decins Sans Fronti¨res, have continued to provide their support because they source their funding from France, and have since stepped in to address the gaps created by LVCT’s exit.
Osuri further affirmed that they have sufficient medical supplies to help for the next three months in terms of anti-retrovirals (ARVs) and medicines for opportunistic infections before determining the next step of action. Additionally, other partners that were sub-recipients of U.S. government funding, such as the USAID Nuru ya Mtoto project, have also been halted.