PanAfricare Kenya hosted a delegation from Amref Health who visited the project sites in Kibwezi West and Makueni Sub Counties in Makueni County. The team had an opportunity to interact with the VAN Project activities and project partners.
Speaking at the end of a five-day tour in Makueni, Mary Mathenge, Amref Kenya Program Manager, commended the seamless implementation of the VAN Program by PanAfricare in Makueni County. She applauded the close working relationship PanAfricare has with different stakeholders, including County ministries and departments. “We witnessed a high level of commitment from the County’s Ministry of Health to the project, and that is something very important for the success of the Project.”
Initially planned to focus only on increasing Covid-19 awareness and vaccination, the VAN Project has evolved and integrated other programs, such as HPV awareness and vaccination. The comprehensive nature of the project now has a broader perspective with a greater impact on the community’s health.
“There is still a lot to do. We have recently seen more disease outbreaks such as the red eye disease. This shows that there is still a lot to do to strengthen the health system to ensure that it detects, prepares, and responds to outbreaks without getting overwhelmed,” said Mary.
Amref Health Africa was keen to implement the VAN Project with PanAfricare, as the two organizations share the same mission and vision of transforming the health of communities by strengthening primary healthcare, Mary added.
PanAfricare Kenya implements the VAN Project in Makueni and Turkana Counties. It closely works with different partners including religious leaders, administrative officers, community groups and relevant county departments to roll out the project activities.
The project has registered increased vaccination rates in the program areas with awareness efforts on going.
Amref Health Africa is the prime recipient of the VAN Project funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.
The VAN Project
The Vaccination Action Network (VAN) project is supported by Rockefeller Foundation through AMREF-Kenya with an aim to increase demand and access to Covid-19 vaccination through Local Implementation in Makueni and Turkana County.
The initiative seeks to create awareness among community members on the importance of getting vaccinated against Covid-19 and to mobilize resources to support the county’s health systems in delivering the vaccine.
To achieve this, PanAfricare-Kenya has engaged with local community leaders and resource persons, healthcare workers, and other stakeholders to sensitize on the benefits of vaccination and create demand for vaccination.
