MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH
Maternal and infant mortality have remained significant global public health problems for decades. Women and infants around the world have consistently struggled to access the resources they need for adequate prenatal, postnatal, obstetric, and infant care to remain safe and healthy during pregnancy and childbirth. The burden of maternal and infant mortality falls disproportionately on vulnerable populations, such as individuals living in low-resource settings both in the United States and around the world.
Like much of sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya is burdened by high levels of maternal and infant mortality. As of 2017, the reported maternal mortality ratio in Kenya was over 25 times greater than the maternal mortality ratio in developed countries. Currently, the reported infant mortality rate in Kenya is 29.8 per 1,000 live births. Contributing to these poor maternal and infant mortality rates is the fact that 62% of women in Kenya give birth without a skilled birth attendant and are less likely to visit the health facility within 48 hours of delivery – a window which is critical to identify and treat complications.
To respond to these health challenges in Kisii County, the Kisii Konya Oroiboro Project (KIKOP), a community based public health program, was developed to reduce maternal and child mortality in the Kitutu Chache Sub-County of Kisii, Kenya. The project is a partnership between the Curamericas Global and the Kisii County Department of Health (KCDOH) that aims to reduce neonatal and maternal mortalities, and morbidity and stunting among children under two.
The main strategies to accomplish the program goal and objectives are to increase access to quality, respectful maternal/newborn services; improve attention to obstetric emergencies (including postpartum hemorrhage); increase provision of essential newborn care (including neonatal resuscitation); and reduce child stunting in under-two children. To implement these strategies, a community-based intervention model is utilized.
This model provisions culturally appropriate, locally accessible, fully equipped, community owned obstetric facilities and builds the capacity of paid front-line indigenous health workers to provide quality routine and emergency obstetric care and malnutrition screening and counseling. A uniquely patient-centered, results-based framework, KIKOP’s approach, mobilizes communities to drive change in the improvement of health and nutrition outcomes, working in sustainable partnerships with civil society and government.
BENEFICIARY TESTIMONIALS
Venick gave birth to her child at the Matongo Health Center in the early morning hours of July 3, 2019. She compared the experience of her friend who delivered at a hospital to her experience delivering at MHC. "A friend of mine delivered at a certain hospital. When she was there, she was mishandled and the baby died,” she recalled. “I was treated very well [by my KIKOP nurse]. Compared to other hospitals where they maybe beat women, I was not beaten. I was told to walk around to help my delivery." Venick enjoyed a snack of Coca Cola bread to recover from her delivery.
OUR PROVEN IMPACT
Project Coordinator Anne Kerubo with Nyagoto Health Promoters speaking on KIKOP's work.
