NAIROBI, Kenya Apr 16 \u2013 Female lawmakers are calling for the dismissal of Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha over the health sector\u2019s ongoing challenges, including the current doctor\u2019s strike and the discontinuation of the Linda Mama program, which covered delivery fees for women from low-income households.<\/p>\n
Former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta initiated the Linda Mama program under the Universal Healthcare system to support expectant mothers and infants. <\/p>\n
However, its cessation has raised concerns about increased mortality rates across the country.<\/p>\n
Suba North representative Millie Odhiambo emphasized the need for Nakhumicha\u2019s resignation, citing her failure to fulfill her duties. <\/p>\n
She expressed frustration, stating, \u201cYou are embarrassing us as fellow women\u2026 we want to protect you but you can\u2019t be the one sabotaging fellow women.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kilifi women representative Gertrude Mbeyu echoed the sentiment, urging Nakhumicha\u2019s removal due to the discontinuation\u2019s adverse impact on maternal health. <\/p>\n
Mbeyu emphasized the need for accountability, demanding data on affected mothers since the strike began.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe embarrassment you have brought to us is enormous, how do we support you with our mothers suffering,\u201d she posed, \u201cI will be the first one to say Nakhumicha must go, we want numbers of how many mothers have been affected since the strike began.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ministry explained the program\u2019s discontinuation as part of the transition to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), set to replace NHIF. <\/p>\n
Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba criticized the decision, labelling it reckless and highlighting the consequent gap in maternal healthcare support.<\/p>\n
Wamuchomba questioned the delay until July for pregnant women to receive essential services. <\/p>\n
\u00a0\u2018\u2019That leaves a serious gap and that gap is what is causing a lot of pain to our mothers, we are wondering should the pregnant women wait until July?\u201d Posed Wamuchomba.<\/p>\n
Previously under NHIF, the Linda Mama program aimed to provide maternal and child health clinics. <\/p>\n
Now, the SHIF will assume these responsibilities, according to Health Cabinet Secretary Nakhumicha.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya Apr 16 \u2013 Female lawmakers are calling for the dismissal of Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha over the health sector\u2019s ongoing challenges, including the current doctor\u2019s strike and the discontinuation of the Linda Mama program, which covered delivery fees for women from low-income households. Former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta initiated the Linda Mama […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27789\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}