Safaricom Foundation And Mombasa County Government Renovate And Equip Newborn Unit And Maternity Ward At Coast General Hospital
Rita Okuthe(centre)Safaricom Chief Enterprise Officer at Safaricom PLC and
Foundation Trustee, Safaricom Foundation Programs manager Eunice Kibathi (right) hand over Safaricom baby hamper to Caroline Ochieng beneficiariary, during the refurbished coast general teaching and referral hospital new born unit and ward 9 founded by Safaricom Foundation.
The newborn unit and a maternity ward at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital has been renovated and equipped courtesy of Safaricom Foundation and the County Government of Mombasa.
The renovation of the newborn unit is set to benefit an over 40 infants daily who need care and treatment at the referral hospital. This provided for the first ever neonatal high dependency unit which wasn’t existing in the hospital. The maternity ward will benefit additional 20 mothers daily. Safaricom Foundation renovated the newborn unit to make it state of the art while the maternity ward was is a renovated floor that had been condemned.
“As Safaricom Foundation, we are advocating for access to maternal, newborn and child health services. One of the ways we are doing this is by giving infrastructure support to enable the provision and improvement of health care services,” said, Rita Okuthe, Safaricom Foundation Trustee.
The facelift also partitioned the newborn unit into different sections which include the doctors’ offices and the incubation room as well as the baby cot section. An acoustic ceiling was constructed and extensive paintwork done.
Safaricom Foundation also upgraded a maternity ward which can now accommodate 20 women.
The County Government of Mombasa equipped the newborn unit with assorted equipment such as incubators, baby warmers, baby cots, resuscitaires and ward beds at a cost of KES 9 million.
The renovation and equipping of the newborn was announced in August this year at a health forum in Mombasa which brought together maternal health stakeholders at the Coast.
