Success Story

On Tuesday, April 16 U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec visited the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Western Kenya.   The hospital is an important partner in the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR.  The hospital, in conjunction with Moi University, implements USAID’s Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) Program in Western Kenya.  It is the largest HIV prevention and treatment program in Kenya.

Monitoring and reporting of adverse drug reactions and poor-quality human medicinal products has gone digital in Kenya.
Medicine safety also known as Pharmacovigilance refers to the science of collecting, monitoring, researching, assessing and evaluating information from healthcare providers and patients on the adverse effects of medicines, biological products, herbals and traditional medicines. It aims to identify new information about hazards, and preventing harm to patients.

"Kwa dawa ya TB ni lazima utembee mpaka upate." (You should never give up when searching for anti-TB medicines).  This is the advice that Esther Wahome gives to her clients when they come to the tuberculosis (TB) clinic in Kayole II, one of the larger public hospitals near Nairobi, Kenya. Esther is a registered community health nurse.  Within a short time, Esther dispenses the drugs to the patient, provides health care advice and updates her records.

The Nyalunya Dispensary in Kisumu is quiet today – about 25 patients are waiting to be served by the three health care workers on duty.  Noline Anyango, 2, and her four-year-old sister are being tested for malaria by a laboratory technician. Noline doesn’t shed a tear as her index finger is pricked. The entire process only takes a few minutes – and Noline and her family are dismissed to the reception area to wait for their results – which will take about 20 minutes.

“I still don’t fully accept my status,” says Vivian Achieng , who has been living with HIV for almost four years. Vivian is one of 200 people waiting for antiretroviral therapy outside Kisumu’s HIV Patient Support Centre on a brisk, Wednesday morning. 
Seeking treatment for HIV is not just a decision; it’s a commitment – one that many people are reluctant to make. Antiretroviral drugs (ARV’s) work to boost the immunity of HIV patients and reduce the risk of opportunistic infections – it’s a complex, life-long treatment that must be strictly adhered to. 

Sharon Cherutich Mutai is a produce vendor at a small but bustling market along the highway connecting Kenya and Uganda through the Great Rift Valley town of Eldoret.  Normally Sharon, who is in her 30s, is busy selling potatoes and vegetables to travelers.  But on this day she has taken time off to attend is a farmers’ field day at Mumberes Farmers' Cooperative Society grounds.

“I decided to come when I heard that there would be free health services,” says Sharon, accompanied by her friend with a small baby.

Monica Wambui, a 37-year-old deaf woman from Nakuru in Kenya, has found a new cause. The 37-year-old mother of four, three boys and a girl, wants to be a trainer so that she can teach people with hearing disability about HIV and AIDS and other issues that affect them.  Wambui was among more than 40 people with disability who attended a workshop organized by the USAID-funded APHIAplus Nuru ya Bonde project in Nakuru.

The dairy sector currently accounts for eight percent (8%) of Kenya’s GDP. With 1.5 million smallholder farmers producing milk, dairy has the potential to greatly contribute to economic growth and job creation. With technical assistance provided by USAID, Kenya’s financial institutions are gradually starting to lend into the sector, supporting needs of farmers and entrepreneurs once excluded from commercial finance.