Dr John Malago, head of the Matata Children’s Hospital, wrote the following for our website.
Socio- Economic condition of Rachuonyo Districts in Kenya
The Socio-economic condition of Rachuonyo Districts (South and North) is generally poor, with the North having food deficit of 45% and South 70%.
The rainfall patterns are as 25% reliable in the North and 45 % reliable in the South.
There are several health facilities/Hospitals of level 4 Matata included, three sub district hospitals, Kabondo, Kandiege and Kendu Bay. There are a number Health Centres and Dispensaries which most of them are managed by the Community and supported by the Government.
HIV/AIDS pandemic infection rate is at 16.9% (Nascop 2010 report).
Integrated subsistence agriculture is majority practiced, with itinerant commercial activities leading. The area is rated 74% poor averagely.
Environmentally, people have destroyed forest lands and available rivers are equally being destroyed through poor farming methods; there is a lot of encroachment to the river banks creating siltation into the rivers. Generally 4% of the population of 399,700 (2009 census) is accessed to clean piped water. The rest use either river water shallow well or lake waters. Sanitation situation is mostly absurd, with most households having temporary pit-latrines which susceptible to drifting human wastes to underground and river waters.
Such situation is normally vulnerable to the outbreaks of water born diseases, particularly in the North Rachuonyo.
John Malago CEO Matata Children’s Hospital Kenya
August 2011
