Elgeyo Marakwet County Receives Health Assets
Elgeyo Marakwet County has received health assets valued at KES 14.1 million ($110K USD) from AMPATH Uzima, with support from the United States Government, in a ceremony held at the County Government of Elgeyo Marakwet Headquarters. The transfer forms part of AMPATH Uzima’s ongoing transition of programme-supported assets to county governments in preparation for the Government-to-Government (G2G) transition, with Elgeyo Marakwet becoming the second county to receive assets under the process. The transfer marks an important step towards strengthening county ownership and sustaining investments that have supported health service delivery across the county.
Amid dance and celebration, the delegation proceeded to view the displayed assets, which included 22 all-in-one desktop computers valued at KES 3 million. The computers offer space-saving and energy-efficient solutions with capabilities suited to electronic data entry and data management. Other assets included in the transfer were office infrastructure, furniture and other essential resources that have supported healthcare workers in delivering quality, efficient and patient-centred services. The assets have been appropriately distributed to health facilities across the county, as outlined in the agreement document.
His Excellency Governor Wisley Rotich expressed his appreciation to AMPATH for the valuable support extended to the county over the years, noting its contribution to saving lives through timely interventions in care and treatment while strengthening health systems across facilities and community health services.
“As much as we are happy with the elimination of mother-to-child transmission drop from 18% to 13%, we are putting measures in place to ensure we reduce this even further to as low as 3% or zero,” he said.
The Governor outlined the County’s strategy to achieve this goal through rapid sensitization of mothers by Community Health Promoters, ensuring that every mother has access to the necessary information, care and support throughout her pregnancy journey. He also noted that 60 percent of the SHA resources received by the County are allocated to the purchase of medicines, with the remaining resources supporting other administrative needs. This forms part of the County’s efforts to address persistent concerns around medicine shortages in health facilities and ensure that clients receive a complete continuum of services supported through their monthly contributions.
AMPATH Uzima and the County Government of Elgeyo Marakwet have shared a longstanding partnership spanning 20 years, with the first client receiving HIV care services on 11 January 2006. In his remarks, Prof. Kimaiyo commended the County’s leadership and expressed his appreciation to His Excellency Governor Wisley Rotich for mobilizing the health taskforce and embracing initiatives aimed at strengthening health systems and promoting sustainability across the county.
Prof. Kimaiyo further assured the County that, as the transition journey seeks to strengthen the partnership between the United States Government and the Government of Kenya, AMPATH will remain steadfast in supporting the County as it continues to assume greater ownership and leadership of health programmes. He also expressed appreciation to the United States Government, through the Department of State, for its continued investment in Kenya’s health systems over the past two decades, noting its contribution to transforming millions of lives and strengthening more sustainable healthcare systems across the country.
The transition ceremony was formalized through the signing of an agreement document, detailing the value of the assets and the list of assets being transferred to the stewardship and management of the County Government.
During the same ceremony, the County Government of Elgeyo Marakwet officially launched its Integrated Specimen Referral System (ISRS) County Plan, a policy framework aligned with the National ISRS Guidelines and designed to strengthen county ownership and coordination of the specimen referral network. The launch also marked the official flagging off of the county riders, who will support the timely and safe transportation of specimens from health facilities to testing laboratories, strengthening access to timely diagnosis and quality healthcare services across the county.
The ceremony concluded with a cake-cutting ceremony, symbolizing the celebration of the continued partnership between AMPATH Uzima and the County Government of Elgeyo Marakwet.