Act fast on procedure that may be harmful

The Ministry of Health should advise doctors and nurses in public hospitals appropriately in the wake of findings that using drips to rehydrate sick children can be fatal.

Kenya, like many other developing countries, has been struggling to reduce its child mortality rates in line with new global guidelines, including the Millennium Development Goals.

Therefore, if there are medical procedures and practices standing in the way of attaining these goals, they should be reviewed and discontinued if it is found that there is compelling scientific evidence that such procedures and practices are injurious.

The relevant authorities should also benchmark their practices against what happens in private hospitals, which have lower child mortality rates. These findings can be used to promote nationwide programmes that improve child survivor rates, especially among poor populations and in regions where diseases such as malaria are prevalent.

TAKE UP THE MATTER

The government should also take up the matter with the World Health Organisation, which experts say had recommended that line of treatment.

It should share the results of these troubling findings with the health body and recommend that it advise other countries that adopted the method on its recommendation to discontinue it.

It should also demand greater accountability from the health body and, where possible, conduct independent investigations to test the veracity of recommended medical practices and procedures to safeguard the well-being of Kenyans.

The life of every child is precious and no parent should lose their child to preventable causes. This makes it even more compelling for the government to act fast and direct doctors countrywide to discontinue the emergency drip.