A campaign launched in Kakamega County in January 2012 targeting expectant mothers has seen increased attendance of antenatal clinics and safe births. The initiative, known as Linda Afya ya Mama na Mtoto, was implemented by the Ministry of Health in conjunction with AMREF Health Africa and Pronto International.
Speaking while releasing the progress report, the county Reproductive Health Services coordinator said that the initiative saw improvement in quality and uptake of antenatal care, delivery by skilled birth attendants at the health facilities and postnatal care in hard to reach areas.
She noted that the project had helped in integrating essential nutrition actions such as early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding.
The interventions were aimed at reducing anemia and maternal d****s among pregnant mothers as well as low birth weight and stunting among newborns.
Health workers on the ground however said that they only started feeling the effects of the project a year later. One of the health workers said that once the project took off, 65 community units were created and 19,370 people reached. It was also noted that some of the expectant mothers who visited the clinics did not know their HIV status.
The project also sought to get fathers actively involved in both the antenatal and post natal stages of child birth. Father to father groups were formed, growing to 32. Mother to mother (MTM) groups helped increase by 24% the proportion of pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics at least four times and took any medication as recommended.
