Mageta Island Health Centre Refurbishment
To improve healthcare standards and encourage wider use of the clinic, we repaired and refurbished the health centre on Mageta Island.
Mageta Island has the some of the highest HIV and AIDS prevalence and child mortality rates in Kenya. Mildmay has been working with communities to deliver HIV-healthcare through support, education and training in remote, impoverished rural areas like Mageta in Western Kenya for over 15 years.
What we did
We repaired and refurbished the health clinic on Mageta Island to increase its use by the Island's inhabitants, leading to improved health of the population.
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A facelift of the facility, including repainting, minor renovations like tiling of the maternity unit and the wards to improve on infection control
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Minor renovations to partition the rooms for privacy since there is only one general ward that houses everyone that is admitted
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Make the mother and child clinic baby-friendly with brighter colours and some murals, which would improve the overall service delivery
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Improved support supervision
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Regular Continuous Medical Education
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Staff accommodation within the facility
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Support for more health outreach activity
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Mobilisation and sensitisation of the population to improve health-seeking behaviour
Why we did it
The health centre was poorly equipped, with even essential but basic medical equipment in short supply. The building itself was not in good condition and was not a welcoming place.
A large proportion of the island’s population avoided using it - except for the poorest residents, who didn't have any choice.
The poor condition of the health centre
Despite the best efforts of the staff and volunteers who operate the health centre, it was in poor condition, both in its fabric and its facilities and equipment. The building is over 60 years old and suffered from a long-term lack of investment by County Health Services, which did not have the funds available to invest in it. Accessing the facility for regular supervision and support remains a challenge for the County and Sub-County Health Management Teams, due to difficulty in travelling to the island.
The facility faces several unique challenges, unlike other rural facilities, due to its geographical location (on a remote island) and the targeted population. The poor condition of the facility was discouraging to the island’s residents, and those that had the resources to do so would take the ferry to the mainland to seek treatment, which in turn, meant less incentive to invest in the clinic, exacerbating its decline.
The poorest and most impoverished residents had no choice but to use the health centre, despite its condition and lack of modern and hygienic facilities.
There was only one medical ward that doubled up as the maternity unit. Women were not guaranteed privacy if other patients were admitted. The toilet in maternity did not have a working flush, the toilet bowl was stained, and the floor untiled.
We refurbished an unused room as the general ward and refurbished the current ward to be used as the maternity and children’s ward.
The delivery room had two delivery beds and was in disarray. We needed to fit lockable cabinets to protect essential items as well as curtains and solar lamps for conducting delivery at night. The solar system available was old and no longer giving out adequate light.
The challenge:
Essential equipment and work needed for the health centre
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Examination lamp
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Adjustable delivery couch
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Patient monitor
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Movable medication trolley
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Infant weighing scale
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Fetal doppler
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Oxygen cylinders (1 portable)
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Electric suction machine
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Postnatal beds
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Patient cabinets
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Incubators
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Wheelchair
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Patient trolley
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Oxygen concentrator
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Minor renovations to partition the rooms for privacy since there is only one general ward that houses everyone that is admitted
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6 beds ,mattresses and bed linen
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Curtains to fit 8 windows
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Solar lighting
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Make the mother and child clinic baby-friendly with brighter colours and some murals, which would improve the overall service delivery
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Regular Continuous Medical Education
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Staff accommodation within the facility
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Support for more health outreach activity
Expected outcomes
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A safer, cleaner and better-equipped facility that will better serve the needs of the community
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A robust healthcare system for pregnant women on Mageta Island that copes with emergency complications and where mothers can expect to give birth successfully the vast majority of the time
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Increased attendance, with better health outcomes among the general population, but in particular, high-risk groups
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Improved education regarding personal health among the general population, but particularly high-risk groups
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People in the community live healthier longer lives
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Better trained, more responsive and productive healthcare workers will have gained a sense of pride in the improved effects of their work, feeling better-motivated
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The health centre is a benchmark for quality local healthcare facilities - a model that can be applied in other rural areas of Kenya.
Health Centre services
Services include basic sexual and reproductive health services (immunisation, antenatal, postnatal, family planning) and other general outpatient services that include prevention and treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases. The health centre is also the base of our Safe Motherhood Project, emergency ambulance and community outreach and educations services.
How much?
Total project cost: £24,500
Refurb
£12,600
FUNDED!
Equipment
£11,900
Project progress
The interior of the health centre has been repaired, renovated and repainted, with a new tiled floor laid - which is a great improvement on the old earthen/bare concrete floor.
As you can see, the beds and mattresses are in bad condition and still need to be replaced along with a lot of other essential equipment. (see the list of essential equipment).
Just take a look at the old staff quarters before refurbishment commenced.
What has been accomplished so far
Background
During the 1952–1960 Mau Mau Uprising, the British colonial government used Mageta Island as a forced labour and detention camp due to its isolation in inhospitable territory.
The detention cells were later converted into the health facility that now serves the whole island, established by the national government before the devolution of power and responsibilities to county governments in 2010.
Devolution has resulted in a sporadic and continuous health crisis in Kenya since the allocation for health is mostly for recurrent costs.
There is also an ongoing problem with drug supply and investment in facilities.
Image credit: IWM MAU 865
About Mageta Island
Lying off the eastern shores of Lake Victoria adjacent to Siaya, Mageta Island is about 8km from end to end and about one kilometre wide at its widest. Its total surface area is around 6.6 square kilometres. It is located in Bondo district, one of the poorest districts in Kenya.
The main economic activities are fishing and small-scale subsistence farming.
Despite social, economic and political advances elsewhere in Kenya, the island community feels isolated and there is little development in infrastructure, health and education. The island is not connected to the electricity grid and inefficient solar power cells generate barely enough power to light 40w light bulbs.