This project aims to provide a convenient mode of ferrying RICO medics into remote communities during primary care and rapid responses to endemic diseases and disease epidemics. RICO would have spent 51.42% and 61.18% less on transport in 2018 and 2019 respectively and hence on the whole budget at large. When transport expenses are reduced, project implementation will be more efficient, providing convenience, facilitating faster response to disease epidemics and leveraging on partnerships.
60% of primary care facilities such as community health units and dispensaries are either closed or sub-optimally in operation in Baringo County and some community members are forced to travel 100 kilometers to access the nearest healthcare facility. In 3 similar communities and an impact of nearly 14000, the medical team collects medical data and allocates resources to dispensaries. With lower transport costs, the team aims to reach double its impact and respond timely to disease epidemics.
The RICO model offers an integrative, needs-based, epidemiology-informed health care approach in the most remote areas in Kenya with a history of epidemics. This approach has offered one of RICO's primary stations, Baringo County, a data-driven opportunity to revamping Rotu Community Health Unit, which previously was closed for more than half a year, and now serves 32000 community members. The bus will allow the medical team reach more communities in a similar state and forge rapid responses.
The project will build epidemic preparedness in rural communities by strengthening primary care facilities and sending its medical team into 10 more counties in the arid and semi arid lands within the country. Impact will be measured by the level of control of endemic diseases during surveillance of prevalence. In the next 3 years, RICO hopes to make dispensaries and community health units in Baringo, Kajiado and Migori Counties fully operational and providing quality healthcare services.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
