Reopening of Mangai Dispensary in terror-prone Boni Forest helping to save lives

The reopening of the Mangai Dispensary in terror-prone Boni Forest in Lamu County has greatly helped to save lives.

Mangai dispensary was reopened in June this year after the county government undertook its rehabilitation and equipping, which is the second within Boni Forest after Kiangwe.

The facility had been closed down 10 years ago owing to frequent Al-Shabaab attacks.

In 2014, Mangai was among the five dispensaries in Boni Forest that were shut down indefinitely due to recurrent attacks, raids and vandalism orchestrated by the militants from neighbouring Somalia.

Other dispensaries affected included Milimani, Basuba, Mararani and Kiangwe.

In 2022, the county government of Lamu reopened the Kiangwe Dispensary while the rest of the facilities remained shut.

the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) escorted Lamu County officials, led by Health Executive Mbarak Bahjaj, to the Mangai Dispensary for its reopening on June 5, 2024.

Speaking to The Eastleigh Voice, Dr Bahjaj said the dispensary is now offering treatment to residents of Mangai and the surrounding villages.

Open maternity wing

He said the county government is also planning to open a maternity wing within Mangai by March next year to reduce the cases of referrals to the King Fahd County Hospital every time pregnant mothers are due for delivery.

“We have seen positive improvement in terms of health service delivery since the Mangai Dispensary was reopened six months ago. As we speak, we have plans to establish maternity wings in Mangai and Kiunga dispensaries on the Kenya-Somalia border by March 2024,” said  Bahjaj.

Lamu Health Executive Mbarak Bahjaj. He says the reopening of dispensaries in terror-prone Boni Forest has helped save lives. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

He termed the move as a new dawn for the Boni Forest region, particularly the women and children who have suffered the most due to the lack of hospital services in their villages for almost a decade.

Bahjaj noted that due to the lack of health services, Boni Forest and the vast Basuba Ward were contributing over 60 per cent of Lamu’s maternal and childhood mortality and morbidity indicators.

Patients and pregnant mothers have had to travel for over 50 kilometres in very bad terrain to access maternity and other health services at Kiangwe Dispensary and sometimes further to King Fahd Hospital on Lamu Island, which is hundreds of miles away and across the vast Indian Ocean.

The Mangai dispensary is currently serving a catchment population of at least 10,000 people, mostly from the Boni minority community.

“It’s unfortunate that due to the inaccessibility of hospital or health services as a result of insecurity and poor infrastructure, Boni Forest contributed over 60 per cent of maternal and childhood mortality and morbidity indicators. I am happy to preside over the reopening of the Mangai Dispensary. Things have greatly improved in terms of service delivery,” said Bahjaj.

Low immunisation

He noted that the low immunisation coverage of less than 50 per cent in the terror-prone Boni Forest predisposed children to preventable diseases such as tuberculosis, measles, pneumonia, diarrhoea and Polio.

“I thank our governor Issa Timamy. In a bid to affirm his strategy of Afya Mashinani, he renovated, equipped, and employed staff to this place which has enabled the reopening and operationalisation of Mangai Dispensary which is deep inside the dense Boni enclave,” said Bahjaj.

The facility offers outpatient, maternity, vaccination, and other primary healthcare services.

Unicef has supported the facility by providing a solar-powered vaccine fridge, while the KDF from Manda Base and Kenya Navy have been instrumental in providing logistical support and security to the staff.

Some of the residents of Boni Forest. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

On his side, Basuba-Boni Forest MCA, Barissa Deko thanked both the county and national governments for their efforts in ensuring the Boni people get health services.

Deko said due to the lack of health services, residents have had to turn to herbalists and traditional healers for treatment.

“We were worried. We have had cases of women here dying at childbirth since we had no health centres to run to during times of emergencies. But the move to reopen the Mangai Dispensary six months ago has given us hope,” said Deko.

“We pray that the rest of the dispensaries in villages like Milimani, Basuba and Mararani, all within Boni Forest, will also be considered for renovation, equipping and reopening,” he added.

Abdi Ali, a resident, said for the past 10 years, it has been frustrating and hard for women to carry pregnancies to term without attending a single clinic as there have been no hospitals or dispensaries.

“The lucky ones can pull through childbirth while many others, along with their babies, do not make it. Some die on their way to the far-flung hospitals located hundreds of kilometres away. But we’re happy that at least we have been able to access the medical treatment just from within Mangai since June this year,” said Ali.