British High Commissioner visits Homa Bay County
Dr Christian Turner visits the county to monitor UK funded activities and share about new partnership opportunities for UK and Kenya
Dr Christian Turner
The British High Commissioner, Dr Christian Turner visited Homa Bay County on 17th and 18th February. The aim of the visit was to underline the UK and Kenya growing partnership through UK funded projects in the area and engage locals in new opportunities for partnership.
On Monday 17th February, Dr Turner paid a courtesy call to the County Commissioner where they discussed a range of development issues relevant to the county. Dr Turner thereafter met Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti where they had lengthy discussions on various subjects.
He briefed the Governor of ongoing projects in the health sector supported by UKaid by through partners and the British Council funded educational programmes within the county. They also shared widely on areas of possible partnership where the High Commissioner presented several proposals for possible partnership the county government could pursue through its various departments. He emphasised the need to speed up and actualise the partnership with UK firms that have expressed interests in various sectors within the County.
He then met the County Women Representative to the National Assembly Ms Gladys Wanga for a brief discussion mainly touching on her role and mandate in the new Constitutional dispensation.
Later in the afternoon, the High Commissioner presided over the official opening of Kobodo Dispensary in Ndhiwa, hosted by area MP Aghostino Neto accompanied by local political leaders and government officials. Here, he underscored the important role played by the health sector in improving any given country’s economy. Dr Turner also decried the worrying statistics of the maternal and infant mortality in the county. He then laid a foundation stone for the new administration block.
On Tuesday Dr Turner visited Mbita District Hospital where UKaid constructed and fully equipped an ultra-modern maternity wing. UKaid also constructed an office block for the District Health Management Team and procured an ambulance for use by the hospital. He then proceeded to Tunza Clinic, Kolunga beach accompanied by area MP Millie Odhiambo. The clinic is a partnership between private health service providers and Population Services Kenya, funded by UKaid. It serves low income populations through improved delivery of quality health services with particular focus on promoting the use of modern Family Planning methods. Officials at Mbita District Hospital pointed out that since the rollout of the programmes, very impressive increases in the percentage of births with a skilled attendant have been experienced in Homa Bay. Safe deliveries have doubled while cases of still-birth have drastically reduced.
The High Commissioner also visited Nyamasare Primary School where the British Council/Microsoft has funded an ICT hub through its Badiliko programme. After interacting with the pupils in the ultra-modern computer lab, Dr Turner said it was encouraging to see young people embracing the use of technology and commended the British Council for establishing laboratory in partnership with Microsoft. British Council has established 20 ICT hubs through this programme in various schools within Kenya with two of them in Homa Bay County.
Photos of the visit Flickr
Last updated 25 February 2014 + show all updates
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Changed the second last paragraph to highlight additional data and facts that were left out from the initial post
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First published.