Vihiga County, in partnership with Living Goods, recently held a high-level review meeting to assess the progress of their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which aims to strengthen Community Health Services (CHS) and implement electronic Community Health Information Systems (eCHIS). The session brought together key stakeholders to evaluate the impact of their joint initiatives on CHS, highlight successes, and address challenges in fulfilling the commitments outlined in the MOU.

In attendance was Mr. Julius Maruja, the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Health, and Caroline Kahora Githii, the Deputy Country Director of Living Goods, Kenya. Together, they reaffirmed their shared commitment to enhancing community health systems through a Digitally-enabled, Equipped, Supervised, and Compensated (DESC) Community Health Workforce. This approach aligns with the County Manifesto and aims to strengthen critical building blocks of the health system, including service delivery, health information systems, access to essential medicines, health system financing, and governance.

Significant milestones have been achieved through this collaboration:

Capacity Building: A total of 15 Trainers of Trainers (TOTs), 146 Community Health Assistants (CHAs), and 1,447 Community Health Promoters (CHPs) have been trained on eCHIS, with all CHPs currently reporting data that is visualized on the dashboard.

Essential Commodities: Startup medical supplies provided by the National Government have been replenished at linked health facilities, ensuring continuous service delivery.

CHP Equipment: 1,247 CHP kits have been distributed, with 200 kits pending.

Ongoing Support: Continuous mentorship, coaching, and capacity-building efforts led by the Living Goods technical team have strengthened service delivery and digital supervision competencies for CHAs and CHPs.

Optimized Workforce Ratios: The County has maintained a CHA-to-CHP ratio of 1:12, enabling structured performance management and targeted support supervision.

Data-Driven Decision-Making: Monthly Data Review Meetings are consistently held at the community unit, ward, and sub-county levels to monitor progress and inform policy decisions.

Financial Commitment: 1,447 CHPs receive a stipend of KES 3,000 from the County Government, while 1,247 also benefit from additional support from both levels of government, bringing their total stipend to KES 5,500.

Key Insights and Way Forward

The review highlighted significant progress but also identified areas needing improvement, particularly the necessity for increased county budget allocations to sustain community health initiatives amid declining U.S. Government funding.

In her remarks, Caroline Kahora praised Vihiga County’s strong commitment to the partnership and emphasized the importance of conducting annual MOU progress reviews for accountability and strategic adjustments aimed at fostering a sustainable community health system.

Mr. Julius Maruja echoed this sentiment, stressing the need to assess the return on investment in community health and underscoring the County’s collaboration with the County Assembly as a vital avenue for advocating increased funding. He also expressed gratitude to Living Goods for their continued support and acknowledged the tangible impact of their partnership in strengthening community health services.

This review meeting reaffirmed the unwavering dedication of both parties to enhance community health through innovation, strategic investment, and sustainable partnerships.