The county government of Murang’a has given way forward on their maternal support programme which was paused earlier this year to allow for an audit process.
In a statement on July 31, Murang’a County Governor Irungu Kang’ata disclosed the audit findings, detailing the number of individuals who had not received payments from the programme and the percentage of those with medical insurance coverage.
“The programme was paused earlier this year for auditing purposes. A physical audit conducted in July 2024 revealed 4,104 unpaid mothers, with only 11% (about 482) having medical insurance coverage,” the statement read.
As such, the County shared its resolutions following the findings including paying the verified but unpaid mothers between 5th August and 10th August 2024.
Governor Irungu also said they will provide 482 mothers with NHIF coverage a payment of Ksh 1,500 while 3622 mothers without medical insurance will receive Ksh1,000 and 3 months of medical cover under SHIF starting 1st October 2024.
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Murang’a Programme Resolutions
Likewise, the governor outlined the schedule for the next annual payment to mothers and the qualification criteria.
“Moving forward, mothers will receive payments only once annually in May/June. The next payment will be in May 2025. To qualify for support, mothers must attend at least 6 antenatal clinic visits scheduled as follows: 1 visit in the 1st trimester, 2 visits in the 2nd trimester, and 3 visits in the 3rd trimester,” Kang’ata said.
“Medics will now use Afya.ke to register antenatal visits, replacing the original county-developed application to avoid duplication.”
The governor also noted that the mothers who were physically verified from 15th to 29th July 2024, should turn up in the specific facilities where their details were documented during verification.
At the same time, Irungu detailed the payment exercise, which he said will include nutritional education sessions aimed at improving life outcomes.
“Payment exercise indicated herein above will include nutritional education sessions. For better life outcomes, Mothers with babies less than 5 years old will be encouraged to feed the little ones with protein and nutrients rich foodstuffs: eggs, fish, fortified porridge and salt with lodine,” he said.
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Murang’a Payment Schedule
Following the resolutions, the county rolled out the specific dates and locations that they will disburse the funds as follows.
- 5th August: Mathioya & Kangema Subcounties.
- 6th August: Kahuro & Kiharu Subcounties.
- 7th August: Maragua & Kigumo Subcounties.
- 8th August: Kandara, Gatanga & Ithanga Subcounties.
Maternal Support Programme
The Murang’a County Maternal Support Programme was launched in 2023 by the devolved unit in order to incentivize pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics, aiming to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates.
As part of the initiative, the county reimbursed travel expenses for expectant mothers among other benefits.
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