Options hosts visit from Head of The UK's Department for International Development in Kenya

Pete Vowles, Head of DFID in Kenya, was joined by Milka Choge, Health Advisor for DFID Kenya, as they visited a local health facility and met with community health workers as well as pregnant women, to see the impact of the work MANI is doing in local communities.

The visit started with a meeting with the Bungoma County Governor, H.E. Kenneth Lusaka, where they discussed the county’s partnership with DFID Kenya in health, security, governance, public administration, civic education and water programmes.

They were joined by Mr. Stephen Kokonya, County Executive Committee Member for Health in Bungoma County, who accompanied them and the MANI team to Kaptanai dispensary in Sirisia sub-county.

Here they met Anthony, a local Boda Boda driver who uses his motorbike as an ambulance for pregnant mothers.  He told them he is available 24/7 so he can get women to the clinic in time to deliver their babies.

They met Mary, a community health volunteer who explained how she uses her smart phone to collect data for pregnancy care.

Pete and Milka witnessed how our performance-based finance initiative works using a Facility Scorecard. The scorecard shows how the clinic is assessed on the quality and quantity of maternal and newborn health care provided each quarter, and then how performance payments are made to the team and clinic to incentivize performance towards targets.

Speaking about the visit, Pete said: “’It’s not just one community health volunteer, or one mobile phone, or one motorbike that makes things work – it’s amazing how all these things are connecting to save the lives of mothers and babies.”

Milka added: “’Today’s visit shows how just a small amount of money can really make a difference in people’s lives, when health workers are committed and supported. The solutions to these problems lie with local people.”

Nicole Sijenyi Fulton, MANI’s Team Leader, who accompanied them on their visit said: “It was great to show our donor, DFID, how far their funding is reaching out into rural communities to impact the lives of the women who need these services the most.”