By Agwanda Saye.
Slovakia Ambassador to Kenya H.E Maros’ Mitrik paid a courtesy call to Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o at his City Hall Office.
The purpose of the visit was to explore strategic partnership particularly in digital health and telemedicine.
Slovakia is modestly advanced in telemedicine,featuring a strong foundational e-health system ( eHealth) but with ongoing gradual implementation of advanced remote services.
Kisumu Governor Prof.Anyang’ Nyong’o welcomed the partnership in scaling telemedicine and digital health solutions, strengthening infrastructure and connectivity, supporting innovations that improve patient care including in emergency and disaster contexts and capacity building in digital and biomedical fields.
Kisumu County is presently facing a rising burden of chronic illnesses which includes hypertension,diabetes and cardiovascular diseases alongside high HIV prevalence which increases demand on the health system and requires more continuous long- term care.
The County experiences recurrent flooding which disrupts access to health services, increases the risk of disease outbreaks and places additional strain on health facilities and communities.
“This context underscores the need for a resilient, accessible and better-coordinated health” Nyong’o added.
Nyong’o further said that the County is presently strengthening Primary Healthcare from Community to Facility Level.
“We are building a connected system from Community to Health facilities and referral hospitals and our community health health system is now fully digitized, 66% of health facilities are digitized and running on electronic medical records as well as establishing a central digital warehouse at Lumumba Hospital to support data-driven decision-making and full digitization is expected by the end of the year ,enabling rapid scale-up of digital services” Governor Nyong’o said.
Nyong’o also told the envoy that the County is leveraging Digital Health and Telemedicine and they are in the tail end of setting up a telemedicine Centre which will serve as a central hub-for Maternal Health and Chronic Disease Management.
“At the Primary Care Level,the County is implementing a wellness programme where individuals are screened and categorized by risk and high-risk patients are linked to higher levels of care including telemedicine” he added.
Nyong’o further said that Kisumu is positioning itself as a leader in modern, connected and resilient healthcare and it has made a strong foundational investments in primary care and digital systems and they are ready for high-impact partnerships to scale what is already working.
