DNDi Launches Kala Azar Patients Ward At Sigor Sub-County Hospital

By Benson Aswani,

Sigor Residents in West Pokot County have received a sigh of relief after the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative DNDi launched the Kala Azar patients ward in the Sigor sub-county hospital.

Speaking on Tuesday after the launch, the DNDi director general Prof. Samwel Kariuki said the Sigor residents are set to benefit from the ward offering treatments for Kala Azar and related diseases.

Mr. Kariuki said the opening of the ward at Sigor sub-county hospital will cut transport costs for Kala Azar patients as they were forced to travel to Kacheliba in search of treatment.

“Our aim of launching this ward is to make sure residents of this area receive Kala Azar treatment at low cost, compared to when they were forced to travel to Kacheliba in search of treatment,” said Mr. Kariuki.

West Pokot County Governor Simon Kachapin lauded the launch of the ward which he said will accelerate the efforts of curbing such diseases by the year 2030 according to the Nairobi declaration.

“Opening of this ward is an important move in making sure that we curb Kala Azar disease by the year 2030 as stated in the Nairobi declaration,” said Mr. Kachapin.

Led by Benson Pserum, the residents said that many Kala Azar patients have lost their lives due to the lack of services at nearby health centers.

“We have suffered for long seeking treatment for Kala Azar disease. Many of our people have lost their lives because we do not have such services at our health centers at Sigor,” said Mr. Pserum.