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Partnerships

Work Continues in Kenya Despite Post-election Violence

More than 1,000 people were killed and another 300,000 displaced as a result of violent protests when members of rival political parties contested the Kenyan presidential election in December 2007. During the two months following the protests, CDC offices in Nairobi and Kisumu, including clinics in the Kiberia settlement and rural Kenya, were closed periodically because of concerns for staff safety. The public health work being done at CDC Kenya and its partner institution, the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), continued throughout this chaotic period. As others fled the region, many KEMRI/CDC staff reported to work at the Lwak Mission Hospital and the Tabitha clinic in Kiberia to provide critical care and treatment.

Initially, the KEMRI/CDC staff focused on maintaining hospital operations while many colleagues returned to their home districts to vote. The remaining team cared for the regular flow of people sick with malaria, pneumonia, HIV—in addition to the surge of patients injured during the post-election violence. The KEMRI/CDC clinical team and community workers also continued to visit households in the surveillance areas to collect health status data.

The KEMRI/CDC staff had strong local support from the community who staged mock demonstrations to keep troublemakers away so that the hospital could remain open. “It’s true we were frightened,” said Mary Agola, a nurse. “But we felt a responsibility to our work as well as to the people who were affected by the violence. Other hospitals had closed and people were coming long distances for help.” Staff replacements began arriving the week of January 7^th, but KEMRI/CDC staff continued working until January 20^th to be sure that people who needed care received it. As a result, the Lwak Hospital never closed its doors.

The KEMRI/CDC collaboration joined Red Cross International and other partners in Nyanza Province to provide medical care. The Kisumu Field Station in rural Kenya held a blood drive and collected 32 pints of blood for use in community hospitals. Through temporary medical camps they provided drugs, medical care, psychosocial support and nutrition support, voluntary counseling, testing for HIV, food, and legal support. Likewise, in Nairobi, KEMRI and CDC medical officers, clinical officers, and nurses provided primary health care in camps for displaced persons. On February 2nd, more than 1,000 people attended one such camp. KEMRI/CDC staff distributed malaria treatment and bed nets and several staff attended “alternatives to violence” workshops to discuss ways to bring peace to their own lives and their communities.

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