Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) in Homa Bay County are a delighted lot after the county government started paying them stipends in an effort to strengthen universal health coverage.

In the programme, the county government is paying each of the 2954 CHV a stipend of Sh2, 000 per month.

Apart from the stipend, the CHVs have also been enrolled for medical cover with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). In the cover, the county pays Sh500 monthly for each of them.

Homa Bay County Chief Officer for Health Kevin Osuri said the county government was committed to motivating the health volunteers.

Dr Osuri said they will ensure the CHVs are promptly paid every month.

‘The CHVs were paid their stipend last in June 2020. But our new programme is that we are going to pay the CHVs every month. The County government will also be paying for their medical cover month,’ said Osuri.

The Chief Officer said the volunteers were key in implementation of universal health coverage.

He noted that the CHVs are the first line defense in prevention of diseases in communities.

‘The CHVs play a pivotal role in prevention of diseases in villages. Motivating them will enable us to make strides in healthcare’ Osuri said.

Millicent Boyi who has served as a CHV for more than ten years said they have been suffering due to lack of financial facilitation.

‘We have been suffering due to lack of money. Our prayer is that the remuneration and medical cover programmes should continue without any hitches,’ Boyi said.

Source: Kenya News Agency