By Alie Eleveld | Founder SWAP and Technical Advisor
1.0 Introduction
Safe Water and AIDS Project (SWAP) has been operating in Western Kenya since 2005 with public health programs, research and emergency response. SWAP's mission is to provide innovative solutions for improved health and economic status of communities.
SWAP has a wealth of experience in public health interventions and has worked in collaboration with County Health Management Teams to respond to COVID-19 especially with focus on health care facilities supporting and protecting the frontline work force and the community at large from COVID-19 spread. More recently the region was affected by a cholera outbreak in the informal settlement.
2.0 Production and sales of Alcohol Based Hand Rub (ABHR)
SWAP’s lab team actively continued with ABHR production even though the last quarter COVID-19 cases had reduced and hardly but ABHR essential to improve hand hygiene and prevent hospital acquired infections. During the last quarter, SWAP still supported close to 50 health care facilities with ABHR together with hand washing stations and liquid soap. However, due to reduced COVID-19 spread the funding for this intervention ended. SWAP does the social marketing of ABHR together with all the other life-saving health products by community health volunteers from door to door and through sales to health stakeholders. ABHR became very essential during the recent cholera outbreak which hit Kisumu County in April 2023 and others in the region and in nearly haft of the Counties across Kenya.
3.0 STREAM Chlorine generators at Health Care Facilities
The lab team trained health care workers and installed STREAM disinfectant generators at 8 health care facilities for infection prevention and control. This generates chlorine using salt and water and supports facilities to reduce hospital acquired infections and mitigates the spread of COVID-19. Chlorine is used for cleaning surfaces, treating water and disinfecting laundry. The Hospitals used to have interrupted supplies of the same and can now make their own. On average, each facility produces up to 1,000 litres of chlorine per month and they support the surrounding smaller dispensaries and health centers.
Our team visits the facilities on monthly basis for trouble shooting, on the job training and monitoring of its use and distribution. The facilities who were provided the STREAM disinfectant generators are located in all sub counties of Kisumu County. The STREAM has been an essential during disease outbreaks for infection prevention and control.
4.0 Cholera Response
Kisumu County Department of Health announced concern of diarrhea outbreak in informal settlement of Kisumu and shared a public notice. As member of the Western Kenya Humanitarian Hub, SWAP was subsequently invited on 17th April 2023 to attend a crisis meeting called for by the County Department of Health with other health stakeholders to discuss the current outbreak and priority areas for support. SWAP started with an assessment based on guidance from the County Department of Health where the index case and most confirmed cases came from informal settlement in Kisumu County. During the same period there was flash floods following heavy rainfall which increased the vulnerability of the communities affected.
Cholera preventive measures include maintaining high standard of hygiene including hand washing with soap, treating water for drinking, proper use of toilets and safe disposal of waste, seeking immediate care for acute diarrhea and vomiting and avoiding street foods. For the health facilities, it was recommended to practice infection prevention and control by using chlorine for cleaning and disinfecting.
Distribution of Supplies
SWAP focused its distribution to the following sites all in the informal settlement in Kisumu.
- Joel Omino Health Center (isolation room for confirmed cases)
- Kowino Dispensary
- Dunga Dispensary
- Pandipieri Health Center
- Nyalenda Police Post.
SWAP’s Water Lab Technicians produced chlorine, Alcohol Based Hand Rub and Liquid Soap. The supplies donated included WaterGuard for water treatment, 60 litres hand washing stations, and hand hygiene posters.
The following products were distributed:
Support to other Counties in Western Kenya
Cholera spread to neighboring counties and Homa Bay County reached out to SWAP for support with supplies in the response. Sindo Sub County Hospital received the following supplies:
5.0 Water Quality Testing for Surveillance
Public Health Officers from Kisumu County delivered several water samples for bacteriological testing. Most of the samples showed bacteriological contamination. Results were shared with recommendations for action. Apart from surveillance in Kisumu Central, Muhoroni Sub County also brought samples from three different sources and all were found with E. coli and Coliform contamination so not fit for human consumptions. Muhoroni Sub County Hospital was further supported with 10 bottles of ABHR.
6.0 EPP Ozonation Units
In order to reduce further the spread of cholera, SWAP received 5 EPP Ozonation Units and donated the same to the affected health care facilities. This is a simple gadget which uses electricity or solar for the ozonation of drinking water through micro plasma technology. It deprives the water of oxygen through which pathogens cannot survive and the water will be fit for human consumption. Training was done to the staff and specific health workers were assigned to treat the water. The units can treat 20 litres of water in two hours.
WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT AND DONATIONS
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