By
Dann Amon
For years, the first stop for many families seeking medical attention has been a health facility.
But in Kisumu, the county government says it is turning that model on its head — taking basic healthcare services to the doorstep through thousands of community health workers.
The county has invested Sh600 million in community health programmes, supporting 2,943 Community Health Promoters (CHPs) working across 291 Community Health Units.
The CHPs have also been equipped with digital tools under the electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS), allowing the county to register households and track the delivery of services at community level.
Through the programme, 330,678 residents have been registered, with 206,151 currently receiving regular community-based health services, according to the county government.
Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o said the initiative was designed to move healthcare beyond hospitals and health centres and into homes.
“Our CHPs are registering families, identifying pregnant women and children at risk, providing basic services, promoting prevention and making referrals when specialised care is required,” Prof Nyong’o said.
Between 2021 and 2025, the community health promoters made 11.48 million household visits and referred 71,341 pregnant women for antenatal and other maternal health services.
The county says antenatal care utilisation subsequently increased by 83 per cent.
During the same period, maternal mortality declined from 495 to 343 deaths per 100,000 live births, while under-five mortality dropped from 67 to 37 deaths per 1,000 live births.
The CHPs have also been handling common illnesses within communities, including malaria and diarrhoea.
According to the county, they managed 264,032 malaria cases among children under five and 242,514 cases among older patients.
They also treated 90,530 diarrhoea cases using Zinc and Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS).
Beyond treatment, the county says the community health programme has helped strengthen its social protection initiatives.
Prof Nyong’o said the community-led approach informed the development of the Marwa Social Health Insurance programme, which supported more than 30,000 vulnerable residents.
The experience gained through Marwa, he said, later contributed to its onboarding into the national Social Health Authority framework.
“The health system we are building is not one that waits for citizens to come looking for government, but one that takes government to the people,” Prof Nyong’o said.
For the governor, the measure of healthcare goes beyond the number of hospitals and health centres built.
“Because the true measure of a health system is not only the number of hospitals we build, but how early we reach a mother, how quickly we identify a sick child, and how effectively we protect a family from an illness becoming a crisis,” he said.
