Kenya’s Mobile Camel Clinics

A huge hurdle for many of the nomadic communities living in Kenya, such as the Samburu, Maasai and Turkana peoples, is access to health care and services.

Many of these communities live amongst extremely challenging terrain, and in parts of the country that cannot be reached by vehicle convoys.

“Camel Clinics” are one solution that is being used to overcome this.

Every quarter camel herders load their camels with vital medical supplies, and take healthcare workers out to some of the most remote parts of the country to provide medical attention, advice and education.

Miriam Njeri Chege explained how the mobile camel clinics “provide services where the community are” and offer a cost effective and culturally acceptable solution to a problem that was costing lives.

The programme is currently donor-funded, but the government is said to be looking into ways it can further support its outreach.

One of the clinical officers involved with the programme, Peter Nguye, talked through the logistical process they go through when they reach a village.

“When we reach a village, we offload the camels, then we make our tents, and then we mobilise the community and then we give them health education, and then from there we start the services”, he said.

The programme has so far been a huge success, especially in reducing the number of maternal deaths thanks to greater sexual health education and family planning services.