Views:711 | By: Alice Anyone who has witnessed a pregnant woman in labor pains knows how bad it can get when the labor pangs attack.

The pan is unbearable and can equate to what you will feel if your 20 bones were to be smashed all at once. At times, women lose it up and go mad.

But for the people of Dagamra Village in Garashi ward in Mangarini, Kilifi county, the story is different.

Here a pregnant woman almost due, walks not less than 5 kilometers to reach the area only dispensary in Bathe location which is operating in an appalling state and most of the time it is closed or lacks medicine or beds.

On a weekend, this dispensary is off since the medics take a break on Friday evening and resume their duties on Monday.

So, in that case, this pregnant woman’s next option is to walk back and add even more kilometers to reach the riverside where she has to cross using a canoe at a fee not less than 50 shillings and here, she has to squat to avoid capsizing.

Remember, the road is not only dusty but next to impassable.

The sad bit is, this is a normal routine in Dagamra village, in Kilifi county.

The people of this village are now raising questions to both the central and the county government demanding to know why their right to access healthcare, just like any normal Kenyan, is denied.

Speaking on the behalf of the other residents, One Jacob Janji accused the management of Bathe dispensary of failing the villagers, adding that the dispensary is not only ill-equipped and understaffed but lacks the basic requirements.

According to Janji, here the casual staff are authorized to serve the locals in absence of the station medic.

Now the residents want the government to invest in the health sector so that the people living in rural areas can have access to quality healthcare.

To prove the allegation, I had to visit the area only dispensary, the Bathe dispensary, and since it is on a Saturday, Closed doors and locked padlocks invited me.

A health system is a way in which all health services are provided. A strong health system will ensure that everyone can access high-quality healthcare without financial difficulty, from how they are financed to the workforce, facilities, and supplies available.

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