Laikipia Health Service - LHS

05/10/2026

STRENGTHENING THE FRONTLINE: LHS,AMREF COMPLETE FIRST PHASE OF EBOLA RESPONSE TRAINING

Laikipia Health Service and Amref Health Africa have concluded the first phase of a month-long Ebola preparedness and community sensitisation exercise, strengthening the capacity of frontline actors to recognise, report and respond to public health threats.

The exercise was implemented through a cascade of trainings, beginning with County and Sub-County Health Management Teams and extending to local administration representatives, faith leaders, Community Health Promoters, transport operators and other community groups.

From administrators in Oljabet to transport operators in Nanyuki and Community Health Promoters in Kimanjo, this diverse mix of participants is expected to form an elaborate frontline surveillance and response network, both now and into the future.
On Friday, facilitators concluded the first phase with Community Health Promoters in Kimanjo, Laikipia North. The sessions focused on Ebola awareness, early recognition and reporting, infection prevention, referral, risk communication and countering misinformation.

The network is expected to strengthen community-based surveillance and establish clearer reporting pathways for suspected cases, enabling health authorities to act more quickly when unusual illness or other public health threats are detected.

Beyond Ebola, the capacity being built is intended to support preparedness for emerging health emergencies more broadly, including through stronger community trust, timely reporting and coordinated response. Subsequent scaled investments in operations and treatment centres, and diagnostic capacities will complete the response architecture.

Laikipia is among the areas identified by the Ministry of Health for enhanced Ebola preparedness, with public sensitisation targeting health workers, border communities, transport operators and other groups considered at higher risk.

Amref is among the partners supporting Kenya's broader preparedness architecture, while LHS continues to strengthen the county's frontline surveillance, risk communication and response

29/09/2026

EBOLA PREPAREDNESS: LHS, AMREF DEEPEN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Faith representatives from Laikipia East Sub-County today convened for a sensitisation session on Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), as LHS in partnership with Amref Health Africa, continues to strengthen community preparedness and risk communication across the county.

The engagement is part of a broader Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) initiative targeting community networks that can play a critical role in sharing accurate health information during public health emergencies.

With populations increasingly mobile and communities connected through extensive travel networks, maintaining public awareness and early preparedness remains an important part of strengthening the county's response to infectious disease threats.

The session focused on understanding Ebola, addressing common misconceptions and misinformation, and equipping participants with accurate information that can be shared within their congregations and wider communities.
Faith leaders form an important communication network within communities, making their involvement particularly relevant in reaching people through trusted and familiar channels.

The approach draws lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, when gaps in public understanding and the rapid spread of misinformation presented additional challenges to the public health response.

Speaking during the engagement, LHS CECM Hon. Albert Taiti, reflected on lessons from previous epidemics and the importance of using public health emergencies to strengthen health systems beyond the immediate response.

“These preparations are not only about responding to an outbreak. They are also about building systems that leave us better prepared for future public health challenges,” he noted.

The county will continue investing in preparedness infrastructure and response capacity, including the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC), diagnostic capacities, treatment preparedness and ambulance dispatch systems.

The ongoing community engagements complement these investments by strengthening another critical layer of preparedness: ensuring that communities have the information and trusted networks needed to recognise risks, respond appropriately and seek care through the right channels.

LHS and Amref will continue engaging targeted community groups as part of efforts to widen the reach of accurate health information and strengthen preparedness across Laikipia.

27/09/2026

TOWARDS PPH ELIMINATION: HOSPITALS, COMMUNITY TAKE PART IN SENSITIZATION RUN

Laikipia today joined the country in a sensitization run to raise awareness on postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) and the shared responsibility of preventing maternal deaths.

PPH—severe bleeding after childbirth—is the leading cause of maternal death globally. In Kenya, the Ministry of Health estimates that it accounts for between 25 and 45 percent of maternal deaths. Yet deaths from PPH are largely preventable when women can access timely, quality maternity care and health facilities are prepared to detect and manage bleeding rapidly.

Prevention begins before and during pregnancy. Antenatal care provides opportunities to identify and address risks such as anaemia and other complications, while skilled care during childbirth, close monitoring after delivery, and readiness with essential medicines, blood and equipment can make the difference when bleeding occurs.

Led by Laikipia Health Service, public and private health facilities joined the community in emphasizing that safer motherhood is not the responsibility of health workers alone. Women, families, communities and health facilities all have a role to play—from seeking timely reproductive and antenatal care to ensuring that emergencies can be recognized and acted upon without delay.

Within health facilities, strengthening the capacity to respond is equally important. Regular training of health workers in PPH prevention, early recognition and management is already being undertaken, with weekly training sessions supporting continued preparedness and skills retention.

The goal is bigger than preventing a medical emergency. When a mother dies, a family loses more than a patient—it can lose a parent, spouse, caregiver and breadwinner. Preventing maternal deaths therefore protects families and communities as much as it protects individual mothers.

Every safe pregnancy and every mother who returns home after childbirth is a reminder that maternal death should not simply be accepted as an inevitable consequence of giving birth.

Together, we ca end preventable maternal deaths.

08/09/2026

STEPPING UP EBOLA PREPAREDNESS

Laikipia Health Service today began strengthening its preparedness for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), with the first sensitization session held for the county health management team as the county moves to enhance its readiness for Ebola and other emerging public health threats.

The initiative comes amid continued Ebola concerns in the East and Central African region, with the Democratic Republic of Congo reporting active transmission.

For Laikipia, preparedness means getting the people, systems and resources right before a suspected case arrives.
Trainings will cascade across the three sub-counties, equipping frontline health workers and community health units with skills in early identification, screening, safe management, reporting and response.

The county will also undertake risk mapping of air and road transport corridors, particularly given Nanyuki’s position within an internationally connected travel circuit.
Other measures will include mobilizing response resources and logistics, establishing a central Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, strengthening surveillance and public health alerts, and forming multisectoral rapid response teams to improve coordination during emergencies.

The preparedness plan will also address healthcare workers’ psychological readiness and strengthen risk communication and community engagement to ensure communities receive accurate and timely information, reducing the gaps and misinformation that can complicate an outbreak response.

The activities will be supported through collaboration with Amref, UNICEF, IRC and other partners, bringing complementary technical and operational support to the county’s preparedness efforts.

03/09/2026

DATA REVIEWS GUIDE NEXT PRIORITIES, LESSONS FOR HIV PROGRAMME

Laikipia County is using data and lessons from the first half of the year to sharpen priorities and interventions for the final quarter of 2026, as county leadership and the Laikipia Health Service (LHS) management review progress in the HIV programme.

The review, held today and led by Deputy Governor H.E. Reuben Kamuri and LHS CECM Hon. Albert Taiti, brought together the county health management and the Tujenge Jamii Project, implemented by Deloitte, to assess programme performance and agree on priority actions for September to December 2026.

The biannual review, a standard programme practice, provides an opportunity to examine performance data, identify persistent gaps and draw lessons that can inform the next phase of implementation.

Discussions and agreed actions covered the full spectrum of HIV care, from prevention and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to treatment, retention and viral-load monitoring. The review also placed emphasis on prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), advanced HIV disease, paediatric HIV, availability of HIV commodities, community follow-up and the quality of programme data.

Among the priorities identified are strengthening facility-level identification and follow-up of clients who may be at risk of treatment interruption, improving access to CD4 testing for clients with advanced HIV disease, strengthening mother-baby pair tracking, integrating HIV prevention services into routine care, and maintaining adequate stocks of essential HIV commodities.

The review also highlighted the importance of accurate and timely data, with teams tasked with reconciling programme data, strengthening documentation and making greater use of facility performance dashboards to guide decision-making.

Each identified gap was matched with an agreed action, responsible persons and a timeline, providing a clear framework for implementation and follow-up during the September–December period.

The exercise underscores a simple principle: better data should lead to better decisions, while lessons from implementation should continually shape the next set of priorities and actions.

03/09/2026

STRENGTHENING REHABILITATIVE SERVICES: LHS RECEIVES EQUIPMENT SUPPORT TO BOOST CARE

Laikipia Health Service (LHS) is set to strengthen rehabilitative care following equipment support under the SHINE Project, a four-year programme spearheaded by Christian Blind Mission (CBM) and Naromoru Children’s Home.

LHS CECM Hon. Albert Taiti today received teams from the two organisations in Nanyuki, alongside NTRH leadership and the hospital’s rehabilitative services team, as the first batch of equipment was handed over.

The equipment—including heavy-duty jigsaws, an oven, commercial massagers, trampolines and hot packs among others—will support NTRH and other main LHS hospitals to establish capacity for locally producing splints, prosthetics and other mobility aids.

The investment is expected to reduce costly referrals outside Laikipia while bringing essential rehabilitative services closer to patients and enable return to everyday life.

Beyond equipment, the SHINE Project will support training of healthcare providers and Community Health Promoters to strengthen assessment, referral, follow-up and continuity of rehabilitative care from health facilities to communities.

“The possibilities of rehabilitative health in community health are immense, given its wide spectrum of improving the lives of persons in need of these services,” Hon. Taiti said, emphasizing the importance of taking investments further downstream into communities.

He said LHS would continue creating an enabling environment for partnerships that expand access to specialised services, noting that as Laikipia develops future health-training capacities, needs-based training—with rehabilitative services at the centre—will be a key priority.

19/08/2026

DIGITAL TRANSITION: COUNTY BIOMEDICAL TEAM UNDERGOES TRAINING ON DIGITAL INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

As Laikipia Health Service continues to expand and equip its health facilities, keeping track of the growing biomedical equipment inventory—and ensuring every machine remains fit for purpose—has become increasingly important.

LHS today convened its biomedical engineering teams from hospitals across the county in Nanyuki for training on a digital equipment inventory management system, facilitated by MEDevice Africa, a medical technology solutions firm. The training was led by County Biomedical Engineer Paul Musyoka ahead of a two-month pilot programme that will inform the system's eventual rollout.

The transition from paper-based registers to digital inventory management is part of LHS's broader shift towards smarter information management in healthcare. The system will enable biomedical teams to track equipment status, uptime and downtime, maintenance schedules, warranty and contract periods, service frequencies and repair history—while generating alerts and reports to support timely decision-making.

From simple thermometers to sophisticated diagnostic, surgical, oxygen, life-support and cold-chain systems, biomedical equipment is central to safe healthcare delivery. Yet behind every functioning machine is an often-unseen team responsible for keeping it running.

The digital system will also support better budget forecasting by flagging maintenance and expiry dates, help assess whether equipment is better repaired or overhauled, streamline vendor and outsourced maintenance services, and improve coordination between biomedical engineering and supply-chain teams on spare parts and equipment needs.

Importantly, the pilot will allow biomedical teams to provide user feedback and shape system customisation before wider implementation.

The platform will enable coordination of the technical ecosystem involving biomedical engineers alongside electricians, plumbers, carpenters, welders, ICT teams and other technical personnel.
Ultimately, all these efforts will translate to better support for patient care.

11/08/2026

TOWARDS IMPROVED NUTRITION: STAKEHOLDERS MEET TO VALIDATE LAIKIPIA COUNTY NUTRITION ACTION PLAN

Laikipia Health Service today convened stakeholders from across the food, health and social systems to validate the County Nutrition Action Plan (CNAP) 2026, a framework that will guide the county’s nutrition priorities and interventions in the coming years.

Led by LHS CECM, Hon. Albert Taiti, nutritionists and representatives from health, agriculture, education, social protection, food systems, research and development partners reviewed and harmonised inputs that will inform the final document.

The plan is designed to strengthen prevention and address nutrition not only as a health-sector responsibility, but as a shared development priority. While Laikipia’s stunting rate of about 13 percent is below the national average, the county recognises that there remains significant room for improvement, particularly in reaching vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations.

The new plan, first conceived in 2024, will succeed the previous framework and introduces a broader, more multisectoral approach. It seeks to bring together actors across the food ecosystem to pursue shared nutrition outcomes, strengthen coordination and partnerships, improve monitoring and evaluation, and align investments and interventions.

The strategy recognises that nutrition is shaped well beyond the health facility. Agriculture, water, education, social protection, markets, climate resilience and household food systems all influence what people can access, afford and ultimately consume. The plan therefore seeks to integrate nutrition priorities into county agricultural planning, education programmes and social protection interventions while promoting dietary diversification and food-based approaches.

It also responds to emerging challenges, including climate shocks and nutrition emergencies, through stronger early-warning systems, preparedness and outreach. Attention will be given to strengthening nutrition supply chains, micronutrient supplementation, food fortification and compliance surveillance, cold-chain and storage infrastructure, clinical nutrition services across all levels of care, and improved access for hard-to-reach communities.

The framework further seeks to create an enabling environment for nutrition through policy and legislative inputs, resource mobilisation, workforce and skills development, innovation in financing, and stronger community participation. It will also promote practical innovations, including the use of appropriate spaces within health facilities for food production and nutrition education, as well as breastfeeding-friendly spaces in workplaces.
The validation process will help refine baseline targets, agree on evolving indicators, strengthen the implementation and costing framework, and develop a clear roadmap for putting the strategy into action.

Ultimately, CNAP 2026 seeks to move nutrition further upstream—from treating the consequences of poor nutrition to preventing them, while recognising the economic value of prevention and the contribution of a well-nourished population to Laikipia’s development.

The validation workshop brought together representatives from the National Drought Management Authority, County Department of Agriculture, County Social Services, IPSEA, Pathways Policy Institute, Resilient Food Systems and other stakeholders. .

17/07/2026

16/07/2026