Preliminary comparative analysis with the District and the overall National Health status
confirms that the District’s health status is poor and lags in most of its rural remote
communities. There are also substantial health inequalities existing within the District
by LLG and ward levels. Kerowagi District has a relatively high maternal mortality, infant
mortality, under-5 mortality and infectious diseases resulting from poor environmental
conditions and childhood diseases.
Table 3.2 below highlights the key health indicators for the respective LLGs. The Upper
Lower Koronigle and Kup LLGs have high maternal mortality and infant mortality rates
including common infectious diseases such as TB and malaria.
The infant mortality rate and the ratios of medical officers and medical facilities provide an
overview of the health sector situation of the District. The infant mortality rate relates to the
environment in which infants are born, how their mothers are taken care of before and after
child-birth, and the cultural practices determining how early the infants are exposed to
liquids and foods other than their mother’s breast milk. In childhood, the risks to children
are extended through the weaning practices and the nutritional quality of food they are
given, the shelter in which they are kept, and the hygienic conditions in which they live
including prevailing parasitic diseases such as malaria and communicable diseases such
as measles. All this is summed up by the under-five child mortality rate which combines all
the conditions together.
The Kerowagi District’s infant mortality and child mortality rates by LLG is high, particularly
for Upper Lower Koronigle and Kup. This means that the living conditions and service
provision are relatively poor compared to where the rates are low.
The ratios of medical officers and medical facilities such as population per medical officer,
population per nursing officer, population per community health post, and population per
health centre reveal the gaps that exist in the provision of health services in the District.
Such disparities need to be addressed to ensure fair and equitable distribution of health
services to address issues and challenges related to maternal health, infant and child
immunization programs.
The issues and challenges impeding effective health service delivery within the LLGs and
wards results from:
• Poor health systems;
• User-side factors of health service utilization;
• Limited technical capacity at the LLGs and wards levels;
• Chronic underfunding; and
• The ageing health workforce.
To improve the delivery of health services and outcomes that is consistent with the MTDP
III health sector priorities, the following mitigating strategies or interventions needs to be
undertaken:
• Improve existing community health posts and establish at least 1 in each ward that
have no nearby health facilities with a larger population;
• Increase and build the accommodative capacities of the health facilities;
• Increase the number of Community Health Workers (CHWS) at sub-health centers and
rural hospital;
• Increase the number of medical specialists and doctors at sub-health centers and rural
hospital;
• Provide midwifery and nutritional training in the wards and communities; and
• Provide necessary logistical support to Community Health Posts (CHPs), sub-health
centers and rural hospital.