Improving the Sickle Cell Patient’s Journey: Quality and Access for Better Care
Situation:
In Kenya and Eastern Africa, sickle cell disease (SCD) presents a pressing public health concern, with an estimated annual birth-rate of 14,000 affected children, ranking the region among the highest globally. Despite its significant impact, SCD remains overlooked in public health priorities, add to the hardships faced by vulnerable communities due to limited healthcare access. Challenges such as inconsistent funding, resource shortages and a healthcare workforce deficit hamper service quality, particularly in resource-poor areas. The absence of a national SCD screening program contributes to undiagnosed cases, resulting in alarmingly high childhood mortality rates, ranging between 50% and 90%. Treatment and support services encounter obstacles like affordability and resource limitations, hindering comprehensive care provision. Collaborative efforts strive to bridge research gaps, improve treatment approaches and boost support services. However, persistent challenges in implementation, including funding constraints and insufficient infrastructure, Emphasizes the need for urgent action to enhance healthcare infrastructure, expand access to screening and treatment, foster research collaborations and address systemic obstacles to effectively manage SCD in the region.
Objectives:
Contributing to the reduction of the mortality rate of SCD patients in Nairobi County.
The project is anticipated to help
- End preventable deaths of children under five years of age by 2030.
- Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all by 2030.
- Reduce by one-third the premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (including SCD) through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
- Increased access to all levels (from the community to the main hospitals) of SCD dedicated health services within Nairobi North-East informal settlements
- Improved quality of SCD dedicated health services provided by the three health facilities targeted within Nairobi Northeast informal settlements.
- Improved data-collection systems on SCD within Nairobi Northeast informal settlements.
- The involvement of local partners with their networks and contacts to mitigate risks
- The involvement of local authorities and community members to boost participation
- Capacity building sessions will adopt the training of trainers approach to allow for the repetition of training for new staff.
- Partnership with relevant health authorities will support the retention of the trained health workers.
- Capacity building activities and creation of networks will increase knowledge of healthcare workers at all levels.
- Setting up clinics and provision of specialised equipment will support the relevant health authorities of the country, such as the NCD department of the Ministry of Health, in the implementation of their national strategies.
- The increase in knowledge about the pattern and features of SCD in Kenya and the improved monitoring of the local health authorities will serve for planning more efficient future interventions by the national health authorities and the network of health facilities, built through the implementation of the project with the support of Else Kröner Fresenius Stiftung.
You can find further information here.
