Magunga Level 4 Hospital Receives A Boost Of Medical Equipment From SportPesa

SportPesa Foundation continues to build on its promotion of safer deliveries through equipping maternity units, with Magunga Level 4 hospital becoming the latest beneficiary of the company’s maternal health care support program.

The health center, located in Gwassi South Division, Homabay County has received delivery beds, maternity ward beds, and an incubator from SportPesa Foundation. This has been done under the company’s maternal health care program launched in March 2021.

In addition to the equipment, SportPesa Foundation donated sanitary towels which will be distributed by the health facility and local community representatives to avert ‘sex for pads’ predatory behavior in the area, where vulnerable women who are unable to afford sanitary towels are preyed on by men for cash to purchase these. This has led to teenage pregnancies in some instances.

“We have had a big problem in this area especially when dealing with pre-term babies because of lack of proper equipment. The nearest referral hospital is either Suba sub-county hospital or St. Camillus Mission Hospital in the neighboring Migori County,” said Magunga Hospital’s facility-in-charge Richard Ojuok.

“Sometimes mothers have to walk very far to access our services which we offer using modest equipment because we are the only hospital around here and cover a very large area. Others opt to give birth at home because of distance to the hospital,” he added.

SportPesa CEO Capt. Ronald Karauri who presented the equipment to the hospital urged corporates to support non-profit organizations and the government in improving affordable, quality, and easily accessible maternal health care to all communities across the country especially those in remote areas.

“Let us not sit back and leave this burden to the government and NGOs alone but embrace public-private partnerships, where we can lend a hand according to our capabilities, to promote safer deliveries in hospitals by making these services easily accessible and equipping hospitals appropriately,” Capt. Karauri remarked.

The latest support comes at a time when the United Nations World Health Organization and UNFPA have announced five new targets to cut maternal deaths globally. The initiative – Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM) – will incorporate an expanded network of partners working in maternal and newborn health.             It has set new milestones that are to be achieved by the year 2025 if the Sustainable Development Goals are to be met globally.

Four of the five targets set under this initiative are: getting at least 90% of women to attend four or more antenatal care visits, 90% of births in an area to be attended by skilled health personnel, to have at least 80% of women who have just given birth to access postnatal care within two days of delivery and that at least 60% of the population of women within an area to have access to emergency obstetric care within two hours of travel time.

Since the rollout of the Maternal Health Care program by SportPesa Foundation, the company has donated equipment to several public and mission hospitals in seven counties. These counties are Homabay, Narok, Kiambu, Meru, Nairobi, Bomet, and Tharaka Nithi.

Magunga Level 4 Hospital was established in 1950 as a dispensary. In February 2019 it was upgraded to a level 4 health facility serving as a major referral hospital within the region.

SportPesa Foundation supports communities in areas of sports and education, maternal care, and ending period poverty by promoting menstrual hygiene projects.