Confusion over Nakuru cholera outbreak

A meal being cooked next to dirty, stagnant water in Bondeni Estate, Nakuru on April 27, 2015. The county is currently grappling with Cholera outbreak. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH |

What you need to know:

  • Health officials issue contradictory statements as leadership remains silent.
  • Sources reveal rivalry and incompetence in the health sector.

Nakuru continues to struggle to contain cases of Cholera, with leaders remaining silent over the situation.

Cholera has hit areas that lack clean, piped water and reliable sewerage disposal.

New cases are reported daily and 11 people have died with 76 cases identified. Currently, 28 people are admitted at Nakuru General Hospital and Langalanga and Kwa Rhonda health centres.

The situation has been worsened by infighting involving the county-appointed health managers and public health officials inherited from the national government.

Sources say the county team is unwilling to provide vehicles for a door-to-door campaign, saying funds must be released to help "fast-track" the campaign. Drugs are also in short supply, they say.

A source said that prior to devolution, all levels of the health sector understood their roles, but currently there is nobody to mobilise the public.

However, Health Executive Dr Samuel Mwaura said the county government has two ambulances on standby.

DIFFERENT SCRIPTS

In the past few weeks, the medical teams have been reading from different scripts, with county officials talking of the situation being under control and public health officials warning of the situation fast getting out of hand.

While new staff was recruited by the county government, public health officials employed under the Economic Stimulus Programme are yet to be absorbed, a situation that has affected morale.

When a case of Cholera was first reported at Kwa Rhonda Estate, public health officials recommended evacuation of houses but county health officials reportedly dismissed it as mistaken identity and reprimanded the other team for causing unnecessary alarm.

The victim lived in a privately owned rental unit, which public health officials recommended be closed, but the decision was overruled.

"Your boss is a political appointee who only works to please their bosses by covering up and not serving residents.

"Nakuru people must demand clean piped water and shun roadside food kiosks," said a public health officer who declined to be named.

IMPROVE SERVICES

Head of the Cholera Surveillance Committee, Dr Elizabeth Kiptoo, said a team of health officers were going from door to door to assess the situation in a bid to come up with a solution.

Dr Kiptoo acknowledged the need to improve sewer services in most of the affected estates as the current lines were inadequate and broke down from time to time.

An investigation of affected areas showed that county health officials were only keen to collect revenue from food sellers, oblivious to the environment they operate in.

"We have time and again raised the issue of our inability to move around since all our vehicles were taken away and redeployed. We have no budget to run health sensitisation programmes but have to rely wholly on another department's goodwill," said a source.

As the crisis worsens, a declaration from the county administration is yet to be made.

Instead, leaders have allowed the two health departments to clash over the outbreak.

Public health officials assert that the outbreak can best be contained if politicians join the war and declare it a county disaster.