Strengthening Maternal and Child Health in Bungoma County: SCINOP Project Bridges the Gap Between Evidence and Policy
Across Kenya, maternal and child health (MCH) remains a pressing concern. According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS 2022), the country records approximately 355 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, and neonatal mortality stands at 21 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Worldwide the maternal mortality rate is 197 per 100,000 live births and the neonatal mortality rate is 17 per 1,000 live births (World Health Organization).
High rates of teenage pregnancies--currently at 15% nationwide--and gender-based violence (GBV) continue to compromise the well-being of mothers and children. These national figures underscore the urgent need to reimagine how policies are designed and implemented to address persistent gaps in care.
Bungoma County has partnered with AMPATH to launch the SCINOP Project: Scientific Citizenry and Knowledge-to-Policy Adaptation in Maternal and Child Health. The SCINOP project is designed to strengthen the county’s capacity to generate, interpret and apply research evidence in health policy and planning. The ultimate goal is to ensure timely use of data to inform decisions, create locally responsive policies, and enhance accountability for MCH outcomes. It focuses on institutionalizing evidence-informed policymaking by building systems within the County Health Management Team and other local structures.
“This project is relevant, and it has come at the right time,” said Dr. Emma Nyaboke, the County Deputy Director of Health. “We are experiencing very high teenage pregnancies in Bungoma. Our GBV levels are quite high compared to other counties, and we are seeing increased neonatal deaths. These are indicators we must reverse. With SCINOP, we aim to look at the data we already have in the county, assess the policies we are using, and feed this evidence into real-time improvements in how we care for our mothers and children.”
“The project is about building a knowledge system that supports informed policymaking,” said Dr. Samuel Mbugua, one of the SCINOP’s project’s lead investigators. “We are working to ensure county departments can rapidly use evidence to address gaps, especially in maternal and child health. We also want to create a local evidence repository and build mechanisms that support sustainability well beyond the project’s lifespan.”
This initiative builds on a long-standing relationship between AMPATH and Bungoma County, which has previously hosted programs including HIV care, ultrasound (PoCUS) training, and Moi University’s Community Based Education and Service (COBES) rotations. Dr. Julia Songok, Principal Investigator for SCINOP and Dean of Moi University School of Medicine, reflected on this enduring collaboration: “We appreciate the county’s commitment to hosting several AMPATH programs. The support across research, education and patient care has made it possible to complement each other in areas that matter most. We are hopeful that the SCINOP project will prove that when research meets context, policy can truly work for the people.”
SCINOP is funded by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, a global partnership housed within the World Health Organization (WHO). The Alliance supports innovations that strengthen health systems by bridging the gap between research, policy, and practice, a mission that aligns perfectly with Bungoma’s health goals.
Lauding the launch of the project, H.E. Kenneth Lusaka, Governor of Bungoma County, underscored the county’s commitment: “Healthcare is a top priority for my government, and maternal and child health is at the heart of it. We appreciate the long-standing partnership with AMPATH, which has continually supported our health services. Sustainability has been a challenge in many projects--we don’t want to see projects collapse when donors exit. We want to create a lasting impact, and I am confident that our county health management team, together with the AMPATH team, will make this project a success and a benchmark for others to follow.”