Nyamira County director of Medical Services Dr Jack Magara has urged expectant mothers to ensure they deliver in hospitals to prevent maternal and infant deaths.
Speaking at the county headquarters on Monday during the flagging of assorted health equipment donated by the Global Fund through the Kenya Red Cross Society to Nyamira county government, Magara reiterated the importance of women delivering in health facilities.
"We also have a few mothers in this era who still deliver at home but as a department, we have improved the number of mothers who deliver in our hospitals to 79 per cent but we are still concerned with the 21 per cent of mothers who still deliver at home," said Magara.
Magara further said the county government has made an effort to improve maternity facilities in areas which had previously been considered as hard to reach but encouraged mothers to make good use of the facilities.
"The government has made a lot of effort to increase the number of health facilities in the county and I want to encourage mothers and the parents to ensure they utilise these facilities to their advantage so as to be able to reduce death resulting from pregnancies and from childhood illnesses," added Magara.
The equipment will be distributed to 73 health centres in the county.