KENYA – Cabinet Secretary for Health, Dr. Nakhumicha S. Wafula has visited Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School and Butere Boys’ High Schools in Kakamega County to assess the situation after a suspected gastroenteritis outbreak.

The CS was accompanied by Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Belio Kipsang, Kakamega County Governor, H.E Fernandes Barasa, and Regional Commissioner, Mr. Samson Irungu Macharia,

They assessed the situation, which has so far killed two students, and released the report.

The Cabinet Secretary announced that a multi-sectoral technical team comprising of professionals from the Ministries of Water, Environment, Education, and Health has been set up to handle the myriad of issues affecting the two schools.

The team is working round the clock to ensure the issues identified are solved promptly to ensure the two schools are reopened immediately after the Easter holidays.

Dr. Nakhumicha thanked the County Government for the excellent care it has offered to the affected students, leading to many of them recovering and being discharged early.

Education PS Dr. Belio Kipsang also expressed that the Ministry of Education will work closely with the Ministry of Health and the two schools to ensure they are offered the necessary help they need.

Eleven students from Sacred Heart Mukumu High School in Kakamega County are still admitted at the County General Hospital following an outbreak of an illness at the institution that doctors say affected the liver and kidneys in the patients.

The school is closed indefinitely following the deaths of two students in a case of suspected food and water poisoning.

One of the students has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with a livery injury.            

Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School was closed on Monday, March 3 after 246 students were admitted to different hospitals with fever, diarrhoea, and vomiting.

Samples collected from the patients were sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) for analysis to establish the cause of the disease outbreak and the results are yet to be released.

The learners are expected to report back to school on May 2 after Ministry of Education officials and their counterparts from the Ministry of Health said the issues related to the outbreak of the disease outbreak will have been addressed by then.

Kenya discusses healthcare partnerships with Pakistan

Kenya’s Principal Secretary for State Department for Medical Services, Eng. Peter Tum, met with the High Commissioner for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, H.E Saqlain Syeda, to discuss healthcare partnerships between the two countries.

Kenya intends to sign four cooperation agreements with Pakistan covering pharmaceuticals, e-health, human resource for health exchange in specialties, and a general MoU, to improve healthcare access and quality.

The PS said the technical teams of both countries will work closely to fast-track these agreements, supporting Kenya’s Kwanza agenda on Universal Health Coverage and Afya mashinani.

Additionally, the discussion covered medical tourism in Pakistan as an alternative for specialized treatment.

“Kenya and Pakistan are committed to enhancing their partnership in healthcare and other areas of mutual interest,” Eng. Tum stated.

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