Maternity Opening Ceremony

World Friends (WF) and International Committee for Peoples’ Development (CISP) are announcing the opening of the new Maternity and Physiotherapy Departments at Ruaraka Uhai Neema Hospital in Nairobi. The ceremony will take place at the Ruaraka Uhai Neema Hospital (Babadogo Road) on Friday the 18th February 2011 at 9.30 am, in the presence of Mr. Daniel Plas, Head of Social Affairs and Environment Section at the EU Delegation to Kenya, together with the relevant authorities, donors, partners and actors involved in the project.

The event is part of the activities foreseen within World Friend’s Neema Health Programme, and in particular of the project “Improving mother and child health status and increasing preventive and diagnostic health services accessibility in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya”, implemented by World Friends and CISP, in partnership with the Archdioceses of Nairobi and supported by the European Union, the Italian Cooperation plus other Italian and European Donors. The project's main achievement is the start of the integrated health centre Ruaraka Uhai Neema Hospital (RUNH), which opened to patients in march 2009; it offers Casualty, Out-Patients, Diagnostic Centre, Mother-Child Health Centre (MCH), Day Hospital, Physiotherapy, Public Health Centre, VCT and Pharmacy. Neema Hospital ensures quality and accessible medical services to Nairobi’s North East slums residents, Continuous Medical Education for health professionals and public health programmes.

It is estimated that one out of 16 (6%) women in Sub-Saharan Africa die from maternal related causes, most of these deaths and permanent infant disability cases due to birth complications can be avoided.

The new Maternity Department will be able to serve 2000 mothers from the slums of Nairobi per year who will receive ante- and post-natal care by qualified health staff. Newborns will benefit from a comprehensive health package with follow up until the end of the vaccination cycle.

The new Physiotherapy Department will be equipped to cater for high quality rehabilitation intervention for disabled patients. About 500 disabled children will be treated annually plus 500 children who will be assisted through the Community Based Rehabilitation Programmes in the slums, parents will also be trained in rehabilitation skills.

The two new Departments have been realised in particular through contributions from the EU, Alba Care Foundation (Sweden), Regione Toscana (Italy), Comune di Roma (Italy), Caritas Antoniana (Padova, Italy), the Foundation Cuore Amico (Brescia, Italy) together with various private donations under the WF’s fundraising campaign Born in the Right Place.

For more information:
Helena Pes - World Friends Kenya - Tel. +254-(0)20-2726772/3 – cell.+254 (0)735722237
project.manager1@worldfriendskenya.org

Melania Bruno – World Friends Italia - cell. +39 3453469579
melania.bruno@world-friends.org - www.world-friends.it