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MAKUENI COUNTY RALLIES SUPPORT FOR FLOOD-AFFECTED FAMILIES

Makueni County Government has stepped up efforts to support residents adversely affected by the ongoing heavy rains.

On Wednesday, Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili visited Mutiswa and Mutyambua villages in Mbitini Ward to assess the extent of the damage caused by the floods.

Area Chief Joshua Nthenge reported that out of the 10 villages in the area, seven have been severely affected.

Shambas in the area have been washed away, houses inundated with sand, and several pit latrines, including those at Barazani Market have collapsed, raising concerns over possible water contamination after nearby rivers burst their banks.

The chief explained that the villages, which are surrounded by hills, are intersected by several rivers that overflow during heavy rains, leaving residents vulnerable to recurrent flooding.

Mulili assured residents of the county’s support, stating that public health teams will be deployed to the affected areas to distribute water treatment solutions and help prevent disease outbreaks.

She further revealed that, through the efforts of Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr., who engaged the Kenya Red Cross, affected families will receive mosquito nets and 10,000KSh for 100 affected families totalling to1 million to help cushion them against the impact of the floods.

Mulili added that, in collaboration with the national government, the county will also provide food assistance to the affected households as soon as possible.

Kenya Red Cross Regional Manager George Ndolo urged residents to drink boiled water to minimize the risk of waterborne diseases.

Mulili was accompanied by Mbitini MCA Bernard Mutua, Devolution Chief Officer Joseph Ndolo, and other county officials.

Makueni County Prepares for the Roll Out of Indigenous Knowledge Documentation and Digitization Project.

A delegation from the State Department of Culture and Heritage, Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage led by Dr. Evans Taracha, the National Coordinator of the Natural Products Industry (NPI) Initiative and leader of the indigenous knowledge documentation and digitization project, met with the Makueni County project implementation team led by Peter Mumo Nyamai, the County Executive Committee Member for Trade, Industry, Marketing, Culture and Tourism, to plan for the roll out of the project.
The overall goal of the project is to advance protection, promotion and valorization (value addition) of Kenya’s indigenous knowledge and associated assets. The project will support the County government in meeting its obligations in the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions Act, 2016 by setting up the County digital repository of traditional knowledge and cultural expressions and associated ICT equipment and building capacity of the County government in the documentation and digitization of indigenous knowledge.
The pilot project that is implemented in Makueni County under the Department of Trade, Marketing, Industry, Culture and Tourism is spearheaded by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage through the Natural Products Industry (NPI) Initiative, a Kenya Vision 2030 flagship project. It is envisaged that the project will stimulate a new growth area of the economy that harnesses indigenous knowledge and associated assets.

MAKUENI COUNTY PILOTS REGISTRATION OF MAKUENI CARE BENEFICIARIES AHEAD OF COUNTYWIDE ROLLOUT.

The Makueni County Government has piloted the registration of beneficiaries for the proposed Makueni Care programme, also known as Mutula Care, as preparations intensify for a countywide rollout later this month.

The pilot exercise, conducted on Friday targeted residents in the Muumbuni cluster , covering 20 villages, and the Kikumini cluster, covering 10 villages in Muvau-Kikumini Ward.

During the exercise, residents identified and vetted the most needy and deserving members of their communities at the village level to benefit from the programme, which is aimed at advancing universal health coverage in the county.

The vetted beneficiaries will be onboarded onto the Makueni Care programme ahead of its official launch scheduled for March.

The exercise was led by Makueni County Executive Committee Member for Health Services, Joyce Mutua, and included mass registration for the Social Health Authority (SHA) as well as testing of the registration system to assess its efficiency and reliability.

She urged residents to actively participate in the registration drive, noting that higher registration and utilisation rates would translate into increased revenue allocations to the county.

She said enhanced SHA registration would strengthen the county’s health financing and support the sustainability of health services.

Mutua further encouraged residents to turn up in large numbers once the full rollout.

The registration exercise is being carried out in partnership with the Social Health Authority (SHA), with residents encouraged to enrol to enhance access to affordable healthcare services across the county.

MAKUENI COUNTY PARTNERS WITH VITAMIN ANGELS TO FIGHT MALNUTRITION AND TEEN PREGNANCIES.

Makueni County has signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa Vitamin Angels, a global nonprofit health organization, to introduce Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) aimed at combating malnutrition among women and children.

Through this new partnership, Makueni becomes the first county in Kenya to pilot the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended MMS program, targeting micronutrient deficiencies in pregnant women.

The initiative will take an implementation science approach, enabling the county’s technical working group, in collaboration with Vitamin Angels, to generate local data and strategies for scaling the program effectively.

Dr. Lucy Kanya, Senior Regional Technical Director at Vitamin Angels, applauded Makueni’s proactive approach, calling the partnership a significant step forward in maternal and child health.

She also reaffirmed Vitamin Angels’ commitment to addressing adolescent pregnancy, a major contributor to premature births.

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr., who presided over the MoU signing, hailed the initiative as a “God-sent opportunity,” especially as anaemia rates in the county remain high at 47%.

He urged both Vitamin Angels and other stakeholders to prioritize efforts to reduce teenage pregnancies, which he described as a “silent national pandemic.”

Vitamin Angels

MAKUENI COUNTY PARTNERS WITH STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY TO CAPACITY BUILD MSMES

The Government of Makueni County envisions to transform the livelihoods of her citizens by increasing their household incomes. The Department of Trade, Marketing, Industry, Culture and Tourism through the Directorate of Trade, Marketing and Industry, has partnered with Kenya Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) to support in the growth and scalability  of businesses in Kibwezi West and East Sub counties. 

Key reasons why Government of Makueni County through Directorate of Trade, Marketing and Industry is supporting MSMEs :

  • Micro Small and Medium Enterprises are key enablers of economic growth and development in Makueni county.
  • MSMEs represent a core pillar of the economy and play a significant role in innovation, wealth, and employment creation. 
  • So there is need to create an entrepreneurship culture where traders are constantly reminded of good business practices in order to increase their sales and profitability.  
  • The directorate has been supporting MSMEs to access to better markets through programmes such as exhibitions, development of ICT portal, Soko Makueni, formation of member associations, value addition, and development of infrastructure among others. 

The MSMEs were trained on financial planning, marketing needs, financing needs, book keeping and on use of technology in addition to:

  • Empowering the MSMEs toward self-reliance 
  • Provide market outlets, product development, training and market information to the producers.
  • Enable participants to understand simple book keeping methods in relation to their business size. 
  • Ensure the participants understand the advantages of keeping track of business transactions.
  • To instill skill and confidence in managing business finances. 
  • Sensitizing on the use of technology in business operations
  • Spotting a business opportunity
  • Market penetration.
  • It was agreed that a better enabling environment be provided for revitalizing the MSMEs to improve economic growth through addressing inefficiencies in the County licensing regime, formalizing unlicensed MSMEs, and strengthening institutional management capacities
  • It was agreed that advisory, training and consultancy activities to promote business, leadership, and governance capacities sessions be conducted in all sub-counties.

MAKUENI COUNTY PARTNERS WITH SCHOOLTRY TO ENHANCE DEVOLVED EDUCATION THROUGH ICT.

Makueni County has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Schooltry, a Swedish program founded in 2018, to enhance education through digital transformation. The partnership, involving the County’s ICT Department and Schooltry, aims to utilize ICT to improve service delivery in education and other sectors. Over the past two years, Makueni has achieved significant milestones in ICT and innovation including the Project Monitoring and Tracking System (PMTS), The County Integrated Health Management Information System ( CIHMIS), enhancement of the County Core Revenue System ( ZIZI), the Supplier Registration Portal, the Vocational Training Centers (VTC) Portal and other citizen engagement tools.

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. highlighted the role of ICT in promoting transparency, saying, “We are a transparent government and that has been possible due to systems developed and deployed by our ICT Department.

The delegation expressed commitment to helping Makueni achieve the next level of digital transformation.

Schooltry’s team included Carlotta Falk, Global Head of Strategic Partnerships, George Jilani, Kenya Country Director, Ismail Eleburuike, Founder and Global CEO and Fredrick Wallmark, Global COO.

MAKUENI COUNTY PARTNERS WITH SAFARICOM FOR DIGITIZATION OF TETHEKA FUND.

On Tuesday, Makueni County’s Executive Committee Member for Gender, Eng. Peter Mumo, along with his ICT counterpart, Elizabeth Muli, led a multi-sectoral team of officers and stakeholders in reviewing the status of the Makueni County Empowerment Fund’s (Tetheka) new digital system, developed in partnership with Safaricom.

This digital system aims to automate the entire process of Tetheka loans—from application and processing to lending and payment. The primary goals are to enhance inclusion, efficiency, transparency, recovery, and overall accountability.

Eng. Mumo said the system is poised to revolutionize affordable credit access for women, youth, and persons with disabilities, improving their financial empowerment.

The review meeting in Nairobi was also attended by representatives of the Makueni County Assembly Committee on Gender, and representatives from the World Food Programme, our key development partner in social empowerment.

MAKUENI COUNTY PARTNERS WITH PATH, WITH SUPPORT FROM AMERICAN BIOPHARMACEUTICAL GIANT AMGEN, TO COMBAT THE GROWING THREAT OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCDs)

Makueni County is set to collaborate with PATH, a global primary healthcare organization, with support from the American biopharmaceutical giant Amgen, to combat the growing threat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and obesity.

This partnership will focus on breaking down barriers in screening, diagnosis, and care,particularly self-care within the county’s health system and communities.

The initiative follows a 2024 survey by PATH, which revealed alarming data: 98% of residents have limited knowledge about cardio-metabolic diseases (CMDs), and nearly 40% are at risk of being overweight or obese.

Governor Mutula Kilonzo stresses the urgency of addressing these findings, calling NCDs a “quiet pandemic” that demands immediate action.

CECM for Health, Paul Musila, welcomed the partnership, noting its timely arrival amid rising NCD cases in the region.

Carolyne Njuguna, PATH Kenya’s Director, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to empowering both the health system and local communities through capacity-building and awareness campaigns focused on self-care and disease management.

Amgen’s Global Head, Sean Lybrand, praised the county’s leadership and emphasized the critical role of accessible NCD care in building a healthier society.

MAKUENI COUNTY PARTNERS WITH PATH FOR BIOMEDICAL TRAINING TO ENHANCE HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS.

Makueni County, in collaboration with PATH, is conducting a specialized training program for 16 biomedical engineering technologists at Makueni Referral Hospital.

The 5 day training which begun on Monday aimes at improving healthcare instrument management and ensuring the reliability of life-saving oxygen supply systems.

The program focuses on equipping participants with essential skills in handling, repairing, and maintaining critical medical equipment.

Chief officer Dr. Stephen Ndolo and Dr. Steven Mwatha were among those who graced the event.