Lamu County’s unique topography means a medical emergency is more complicated than usual as transportation is dependent on donkeys, motorbikes or boats or a combination of road and water transport.

Sometimes, these means of transport are not guaranteed as they are not available throughout the 24-hours, round the clock.

However, this changed with the recent donation of a boat ambulance by Safaricom Foundation.  Stationed at King Fahad Referral Hospital in Lamu, the boat will help deal with medical emergencies by ensuring that patients can access critical first aid on their way to the hospital.

Esther Osewe, a nurse at the hospital and Mohammed Ali, captain in charge of the KES 9.5 Million boat donation know only too well the importance of the boat on standby to aid in providing emergency medical services.

“Prior to this new boat, we used to have the county boat that was stationed at Mokowe or in town but it got spoiled and is still under maintenance. Without a boat we couldn’t provide proper emergency services,” said nurse Osewe.

The new boat, the nurse adds, is faster and has more equipment and can thus offer better services as they transport patients to the hospital.

The boat is part of projects aiming to reduce the maternal mortality rate in Lamu, which stands at 676 deaths per 100,000 births compared with the national rate of 362 deaths per 100,000 births, said the Safaricom Foundation chair, Joe Ogutu during the handover of the boat in May.

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