Cross-Culture Ministry in Kenya, Part Seven

Yesterday began with a tour of Nyanza Provincial Hospital. The man who gave us the tour is David's good friend. He is now the provincial director of nursing and oversees all the nurses in Nyanza Province. He has just been promoted to that position from District Director. It is the equivalent of our county hospitals. It is equivalent in the sense that it is a public hospital but that is where the equivalency ends. There are only two sections that are decent. The children's cancer ward that is run by Walter Reid Army Hospital for the purpose of doing research and an AIDS outpatient clinic run by the U.S.A.'s Center for Disease Control. The CDC is conducting research on vertical transmission of AIDS from mother to child during pregnancy and testing new medication for it's prevention. The U.S government has funded a blood bank that is housed in a new building separate from the hospital. It's purpose is to clean up the blood supply in Kenya.

The hospital itself is old, run-down and dirty compared to our standards. It is filled with very sick people. May-July is the peak of Malaria season so the hospital is full. Since it is a public hospital, no one is turned away. If you can pay or have health insurance, you get a semi-private room. If not, you are put in a ward separated by sex.

The male and female wards are over full. There are mattresses on the floor, and two people to a bed. There are no sheets on the mattresses and most of the plastic coverings were cracked and torn. There are no fans or air-conditioning and no screens on the windows. Paint is peeling off the walls and electrical wires are hanging from the ceiling.

We saw a man with an abscess on his arm. His arm was swollen bigger that his torso, something you would only see in medical textbooks. Another man was gasping for air but did not have an oxygen mask. They lack basic medical supplies. Surgeries are done with old equipment and there is not enough pain mediation for post-surgery recovery.

Many of the antibiotics they use are outdated and ineffective. Medicines are so expensive the people can't afford them. When they get sick, they will take just enough medicine to feel better but not complete the entire course of treatment. This is creating drug-resistant strains of germs and treatment is becoming more difficult.

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