[kictanet] Of Vision 2030 and Misplaced Priorities

[John Gachagua]

It is absurd to see what is happening to our health sector.
My cousin died and we buried him three weeks ago, before that
he had travelled to western,some members of the group he travelled with got
malaria and were treated, so he bought anti malaria drugs and took. this is what happened,
He collapsed and went into coma, somewhere in along jogoo road and we were
notified, He was quickly rushed to Jamaa hospital, where he was put on
antibiotics and upon no improvement transferred to Kenyatta hospital the following
morning at 8am. Upon arrival we were stalled for two hours before being attended
to, they took 1st blood for testing we were notified that CT scan
for Kenyatta were not working and we were to take him to Nairobi West hospital
for the Scans, we were back to Kenyatta at 2pm. Told to take the patient at
casualties, we were the ones to push the stretcher, the 5th year
students started writing their reports, Doctors came in and said the CT scans
were all normal, the 1st blood test was not found and we were told a
second blood test should be done, it would take 3hrs to 5hrs for results so we
agreed to go do it on our own in private wing at doctors plaza, We are attended
to by 2nd Doctor now, after it was done everything was found to be
negative, so we are told blood from his fingers should be removed again we do
it in less than 10 Mins. The 2nd doctor reviews everything and leaves;
we are left with the medical Interns who are telling us all questions to be
addressed to the doctors. Finally at  around 7pm 3rd doctor comes in and
checks  does a few analysis asks us if he
was in a  malaria prone area, checks the
CT scan and agrees to admit the patient , He is put on quinine. We are told to
take him to 8th floor to wing 8B.We push our patient to the elevator
and take him there.  There we meet with a
nurse who take the records, tells us we take clothes and blanket from the
store, change him and put him in one of the rooms. We do so. They tell us
visiting hours are between 12 and 2pm and 4 and 6pm and tell us to leave. We see
him at 1pm and he has finished the quinine. Nothing else is done to him. The
following day his brother comes to see him very early in the morning and only
to be told he is dead.
Cerebral Malaria is a very lethal form of malaria and kills
within 3 days. When a patient dies of cerebral Malaria they won’t say he died
of cerebral Malaria. They will say SEPSIS and then Say Swelling of Ménages or Encephalitis,
which for my cousin’s case, cause of death was Encephalitis and Sepsis, when
you research on, encephalitis can be caused by Malaria. So according to
statistics when one dies of encephalitis in Sub-Saharan Africa what is the
behind cause of the disease = MALARIA.
The poor services offered at Kenyatta Hospital have been on
the lime light, and it continues. If M-Health is developed the best place to
try it is in a large medical institution but according to the current status of
Poor services at Kenyatta will this succeed. 
Kenya is money minded Economy, Who will you find at Kenyatta
casualties the CEO of m-Health or the poor Kenyan who cannot even afford to take
blood to be tested at the private wing? 
What is the deal with Kenyatta Hospital referring people to
Nairobi West Hospital for any Testing? Is there a profit sharing Business
between the Public and the Private hospital?
Have Kenyan Doctors gotten used to seeing people die that it
does not surprise them? 
We can develop very good systems, the best just like m-pesa
to be implemented to the rest of the world but will it work in Kenya with our
NOT so Motivated Public Sector Doctors and Nurses and Hospital Administration?
Why not get biochemical engineers to develop a genetic bomb
for mosquitos, I say a Genetic Bomb as I love fish and I know they thrive on
Mosquito Larvae, so why not modify them so that the next generation do not
reach adult hood and the fish will eat them as larvae, this will still maintain
the balance of the eco system and Have us eliminate the problem of ROMAN FEVER,
AGUE OR MARSH FEVER?
How many Empires, Human Era, or human Age Shall we allow
Mosquitos to Destroy?
If you read history of malaria, Apart from being an epidemic
in sub-Saharan Africa, 500,000 American soldiers were infected with malaria
during World War II and 60,000 died. It is documented that Malaria may have contributed
to decline of Roman Empire.
If Encephalitis (St Louis encephalitis) is the most common
disease transmitted to humans by mosquitos in the United States and It has
started occurring in Kenya, Are the concerned stake holders aware of this?
Read “Why researchers can’t control Mosquitos, by Lee dye January
7 2006.” Abc News. 
 
Many people have thanked certain prominent people because of
their quick support to cancer treatment and looking for funds to support all
departments concerned with it. This wouldn’t be the case if they were not
personally affected. A step is being made because am prominent, am a victim so
am awakened to deliver this service, because I will be a beneficiary. “If it
does not affect me or my wife or my daughter or son then let nature take its
course. “Is a slogan that is used by Kenyans and more so the political and
Elite.
Am not shocked when people speak of Malaria killing people,
there is no viable vaccine, Malaria is one of the oldest disease affecting the
human species, it has been around for 50, 000, and it will be here till End times,
It should have been included in the Revelations - with a light touch, last year
(2010) it contributed to 2.23% of deaths around the world, the majority of
deaths are young children in sub-Saharan Africa, while 90% of deaths occur in Sub-Saharan
Africa. 
So what is Sub-Saharan Africa not doing that the rest of the
world has done to curb this disease?(Answer is, When there was a wide
fumigation campaign in India, Sri lanka and other prone areas in Asia and Africa
was excluded completely,(Read CDC-Malaria-About Malaria - History). But
Mosquitos are as important as Petroleum in this world. Without this mosquito
Some Pharmaceutical companies would have closed. Departments of Donor Funding
and Health Care Non-Governmental Organizations would have been shut down. That
is why there will be no new Vaccine anytime soon. So as Children Die in Western
and Nyanza region as well as other Sub-Saharan Countries there are people who
know if this insects are eliminated then they lose their lively hood. If I was
a Smart Investor in Donor Aid and wouldn’t want a region to Cut of my funding
them then I would never eliminate the problem but nurse the wounds to the
problem with drugs and other preventive care for a fee.
So when people talk of E-Health program I get excited but
does it apply on the ground? 
Because I believe for us to develop a good system we must
create a Knowledge Base that is accessible then must train the medical
practioners and educate the public. It comes down to Incident management, Event
Management, Problem Management, Access Management. Measure of the effect of an incident,
problem or event by urgency and Priority by the Medical Systems. 
Even if you develop an m-health application that has a service for Request for ambulance in case of emergency or Accident and it will involve
paying via m-pesa, Even if I pay and it received at service desk and disbursed
in this Kenya how long will it take to arrive at point of incident?
Because am a jobless Kenyan, with a smart mind and am
realistic, and cautious,I buy a cheap net, ensure I take anti malaria’s and
avoid tarmacking in areas with suspicious pools of water puddles.
Hoping the concerned parties will read this and make
policies and legislation s. The best I can do is voice, but I have no economic
power to go and fumigate western and Nyanza regions for free, am not the financial
arm of the government is to disburse the budget nor the health arm to choose
which between Yellow Fever,Cancer and Malaria will be my priorities,and for the wise you already know the answer. 
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