The Government of Korea has launched an initiative to promote healthy living in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.
Korea Aid will focus on health services, nutrition, hygiene and education across three countries. Under the arrangement, Korea Aid will provide mobile clinics to communities that have limited access to quality maternal health services, raise awareness on hygiene, nutrition and education to socially and economically underprivileged people, especially girls and women.
Along with development cooperation, it will also play a role of cultural exchange by introducing Korean meals and culture.
At the Pilot Project site at KOPIA Center, President of Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Mr In Shik Kim, said accelerated action was required in investments in equitable access to health services for marginalised populations living in remote areas through a package of mobile clinic program in cooperation with County government and a referral hospital.
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In addition, “The programme will strive to assist Kenya efforts towards achieving economic and social development, as well as enhance quality of life through promoting better access to health services in remote areas” said Mr Kim.
The programme is composed of three elements namely, K-Medic, K-Meal and K-Culture. A mobile clinic using the K-Medic vehicle will provide quality medical services, focusing maternal health. During the medical check-up, a combination of Korean and Kenyan nutritional meals will be provided through the K-Meal vehicle and education programme on hygiene and health will be carried out through K-Culture vehicle.
“One of Kenya’s Government priorities in public health is to reduce incidence rate and mortality from preventable or treatable disease,” said Mr Kim. “Aligned with that, mobile clinics with Korean-Kenya medical team will be dispatched at the villages to reach out to the communities which do not have easy access to health infrastructure.”
Following the launch yesterday at KICC, a two-day pilot project is taking place as a test-run, benefiting 800 people at KOPIA Center in Kiambu County. After the test-run, the KOICA, on behalf of the Government of Korea, will implement the long-term out-reach project in partnership with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kenya.
