Nairobi, Kenya: Every year more than 250,000 women and one million babies die during childbirth in Africa. In East Africa alone, rates of maternal mortality are over a hundred times higher than they are in Europe and the disparity in maternal death between rich and poor is the largest amongst all health indicators tracked by the WHO. Research by the African Population and Health Research Council has suggested a maternal mortality ratio of over 700 per 100,000 births in Nairobi’s slums, significantly higher than the national average. This brings into focus the need for cost-effective and patient-centered maternity care.

Ms Faith Muigai, Director, Clinical Operations, Jacaranda Health Kenya, discussed the issue of ‘Affordable Healthcare to Kenyans’ in 2013 at the first Medic East Africa Exhibition & Congress.
This year Medic East Africa will take place from 23 -25 September at the Visa Oshwal Convention Centre, Nairobi, Kenya. Medic East Africa is the only healthcare event in the region supported and endorsed by the Kenya Ministry of Health and East African Healthcare Federation.
Maternity clinics are often vastly unaffordable or dangerous and unlicensed; as a result, 30% of mothers still deliver at home. Those that do go to clinics they can afford receive low quality care that contributes to high rates of maternal mortality.

Meanwhile, the socio-economic and family landscape is fractured, poor environmental and sanitary conditions are the norm, and the incidence of gender violence, teen pregnancy, and abortion are high. In its first year, Jacaranda treated over 4,000 women at their maternity hospital, hundreds at their mobile van sites, and has consequently impacted the lives of nearly 20,000 family members
According to Ms Muigai, “We are building a network of high-quality, affordable maternity hospitals in peri-urban Nairobi and, by doing so, we are creating a model for cost-effective, patient-centered, affordable maternal and newborn healthcare. We provide sufficient obstetric care, labor and delivery support, family planning, and postnatal care.”

“In my perspective, the issue is not whether the government has the resources to implement a more affordable healthcare system in Kenya; rather, it is about proper allocation of the resources to support a high-quality, accessible system. At Jacaranda, we seek to build a model for truly cost-effective, affordable and patient-centered care that can be replicated across a range of resource-constrained settings,” says Ms Muigai.

“We strive to have a global innovation laboratory, adapting and integrating the best clinical protocols, technologies, health information systems, and business approaches. Our goal is not limited to use a breadth of the most effective health innovations to provide affordable and quality care for the women and children we treat, but also to learn from and adapt to our clients as we create a replicable maternal health model aimed at reducing cost, increasing uptake of health services, and improving quality of care,” Ms Muigai continues.

About Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions:
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About Jacaranda:
For more information, please visit www.jacarandahealth.org

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Affordable healthcare to Kenyans http://www.mediceastafrica.com/ one of the highly discussed topics at Medic East Africa Exhibition & Congress. For more information about Medic East Africa, the only healthcare event in the East Africa supported and endorsed by the Kenya Ministry of Health http://www.mediceastafrica.com/ and East African Healthcare Federation, please call +971 408 2813 or visit www.mediceastafrica.com .