Expanding access and strengthening community health in Baringo County with Dandelion Africa
We have recently completed a one-year project delivered in partnership with Dandelion Africa to strengthen community health systems and expanded access to reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health services in Baringo County, Kenya.
Tiaty East and Tiaty West are among the most marginalised sub-counties of Baringo County due to isolation, insecurity and limited infrastructure. People face barriers such as long distances to health facilities, transport costs and the limited availability of outreach services.
We are delighted to share that our project reached over 29,500 people in the two sub-counties with health services and information and counselling.
At the start of the project, four new Backpack Nurse safe spaces were established. Monthly mobile outreach clinics were then supported at all four sites for the remainder of the project. These sites will continue to be used after the project has finished. The safe spaces brought health services to locations where the nearest health facility was approximately 20km away.
A Backpack Nurse site at Tapelekwo
Outreach clinics delivered integrated reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health services, including family planning, antenatal and postnatal care, immunisation, HIV testing, and breast and cervical cancer screening.
The project also trained 35 Community Health Assistants (CHAs) from across the two sub-counties in 360-degree supportive supervision, in line with Ministry of Health community health and reproductive health frameworks. Prior to the project, many CHAs had not received training and relied largely on experience.
The training strengthened the confidence and leadership of the CHAs, so they are better equipped to take a more active role in managing community health units. This improved reporting processes and provided more consistent support for Community Health Workers working in remote villages.
We are grateful to our donor and our long-term partners Dandelion Africa for the success of this project.
Before Dandelion Africa brought an outreach clinic to our village, getting health services was very difficult. Our village is one of the furthest places in Baringo County and is close to the border with another county. The nearest health facility is more than 20km away. Services like antenatal care, family planning, and child immunisation were often missed because the journey was too long.
When Dandelion Africa started bringing outreach health services to our village, it changed our lives. I learned about family planning and decided to use it. Before, I did not know much about it because I had never had the chance to receive the information or the service.
My youngest child has now received all the recommended vaccines because the outreach clinic is nearby. Now, mothers and children can receive the care they need without worrying about the long journey or the cost of transport.
Chepokighoo, mother of six children and livestock farmer