Garissa County Health CEC Ahmednadhir Omar Speaking during the launch of the Malezi Bora month in Garissa town. (Photo-Victor Wanaswa)
The county government remains committed to creating an enabling environment for women, families, and communities to adopt healthy infant and young child feeding practices.Speaking during the launch of the Malezi Bora month in Garissa town, Garissa county health CEC Ahmednadhir Omar said that his administration will focus on interventions aimed at improving the health and nutrition status of women and children.Omar said among the activities to be scaled up to include immunization of children, vitamin A supplementation, de-worming of children, family planning services antenatal care services and facility deliveries for mothers.Others areas include nutritional and health education, screening, treatment and referral on malnourished children, pregnant and lactating mothers.“This we know will improve child survival and development as well as contribute to a country's prosperity. The government will continue to support health services because they are critical for survival,” he said.The CEC urged civil society groups, UN urgencies, and other partners to support a sensitization campaign and awareness meant to support pregnant women to visit health facilities to access professional antenatal care and skilled birth delivery.This he noted will not only reduce the risk of birth complications but will also be an opportunity for women to receive appropriate breastfeeding council and nutrition education.“We know that good health is a prerequisite for the rapid socio-economic development of any county. We recognize this fact and together with stakeholders in the health sector has invested significantly in the healthcare delivery, Omar said.“To this end, we will continue to invest both in infrastructure and personnel, both in numbers and technical capacity,” he added.The theme for this year’s Malezi bora month is ‘Afya ya Jamii, Ustawi was Nchi’. It is about improving maternal and child health.