Riandu service delivery outreach
July 2007
CREDITS: Story and photos by the APHIA II
Eastern Results 2 Team in Kenya. The team includes Juma Mwatsefu, Daniel Were
and Noni Mumba.
On the 5th of July, 2007, a service delivery outreach was held at the Riandu dispensary—with full support
from the District Health Management Team (DHMT), Mbeere District. By all accounts, the event was a considerable success, with
members from the community surrounding the Riandu dispensary congregating as early as eight o’clock that morning. The
outreach commenced with health education through drama, led by the Mbeere youth group, and continued with a wide range of services,
delivered through 12 health care providers. Services included voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), family planning (FP),
prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and antenatal care (ANC), as well as treatment for TB, malaria and
other general ailments.
 Mbeere youth group conducts health education through drama during the event. The outreach represented a successful collaboration among several stakeholders. Outreach service providers were
drawn from Siakago District hospital to aid the two staff available at the dispensary. Mbeere’s District AIDS and STI
Coordinator (DASCO), Mr. Henry Mureithi, ensured that the logistics for the event were in place, especially with regard to drugs,
test kits and personnel. The community mobilization component of the AIDS, Population, and Health Integrated Assistance Program
(APHIA II Eastern) worked with community health workers to mobilize people from surrounding villages to attend the event. Through
this joint effort, great strides were made during the course of this eventful day.
 Mbeere District Health Education Officer delivers a health talk during the Riandu outreach. Key messages from the initial dramatic performance were reinforced by health talks delivered by the Public
Health Officer (PHO), District Health Education Officer (DHEO) and District Tuberculosis and Leprosy Coordinator (DTLC) before
service delivery commenced. Mbeere youth group continued to keep the community on its toes with health education sessions
throughout the day, while service delivery was in progress. A total of 486 people attended this particular outreach, including
102 men, 140 women, 82 boys and 162 girls. Of these, 214 received treatment for specific ailments and other health services
(as summarized in the Table below), while the remainder benefited from the health education sessions.
Summary of Services Accessed through Riandu Outreach Event
| |
| PMTCT/ANC |
3 |
| FP |
New |
1 |
| |
Revisits |
3 |
| Child Welfare Clinic |
Immunized |
2 |
| |
Revisits |
6 |
| Child Welfare Clinic |
Above five years of age |
150 |
| |
Below five years of age |
28 |
| VCT |
21 |
| Total |
214 |
 Community members line up for services during the outreach. Although the outreach was a success, there were a few issues noted that can help inform improvements to
similar events in the future. For example, many people in villages located further from the dispensary (e.g., Kune/Magaca,
which is about 10 kilometers [km] away) did not attend because of the distance, even though this is their nearest health
facility. Also, some community members who did attend were reluctant to use the VCT services for fear of stigmatization.
For subsequent outreaches, these challenges may be overcome through more focused community health education and additional
mobilization efforts.
Informal testimonies shared by some of the community members who attended the outreach revealed a positive
overall response to the event, as highlighted below:
- A woman from Ciambugu, a village about three km from the dispensary, was especially impressed by
the Mbeere youth group, which she said both educated and inspired her. She also appreciated receiving free treatment for
her backache and joint pains, as well as a referral to Siakago district hospital for further care.
- A woman from Muthanu, about two km away, was pleased to receive free treatment for her malaria.
She was also motivated by the new knowledge she gained about HIV, saying she was determined to get tested at a later date.
- A man from Kiaragana, about five km away, took advantage of the free VCT services available
through the outreach and was tested for HIV. He appreciated the convenience of learning his HIV status so close to home,
as people in his community generally have to travel 20 km to Siakago to be tested. Although he had been reluctant to
take the test, he explained that the information he received that day helped him overcome his fears. Further, he planned
to share what he learned with others in his community.
Overall, those in attendance seemed delighted with the services offered through the Riandu outreach
and expressed the hope that such events be held routinely in the future.
About Jhpiego
For nearly 40 years, Jhpiego, (pronounced "ja-pie-go"), has empowered front-line health
workers by designing and implementing simple, low-cost, hands-on solutions that
strengthen the delivery of health care services, following the
household-to-hospital continuum of care. We partner with community- to
national-level organizations to build sustainable, local capacity through
advocacy, policy and guidelines development, and quality and performance
improvement approaches.
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