When we spoke to Margaret Fondo, a primary school teacher in Takaungu sub-location in Coast Province, she was deeply concerned about the availability of medicines in the area.
As a teacher, the 44 year-old mother had a medical allowance which paid for most of the treatment that Margaret and her family of four needed. However, despite having the assurance of a medical allowance, unavailability of medicines within the village and the inconvenience of having to travel far to get medicines was a major worry.
“I am thankful that we don’t fall sick often. I say ‘thankful’ because I know that when someone falls sick they have to spend a lot of money on medical expenses. As a teacher I have a monthly medical allowance, so I hardly spend money from my pocket on treatment. But even so, there is still a problem in getting medicines. In September 2007, for example, I had a skin rash that needed attention. The local dispensary was out of stock of the medicine I needed, so I had to travel to the next town to buy it. Medicines are not regularly available at the local dispensary. There may be medicines at the dispensary today and none tomorrow. That is unfortunate because many people rely on the dispensary which, as a government health facility, is supposed to offer medicines free of charge. The dispensary is also the only health facility in Takaungu. Some medicines, such as malaria drugs and painkillers, are usually available. However, medicines for chronic illnesses, such as HIV and AIDS, are hardly ever available.
Worse still, there is no chemist shop in Takaungu where people can buy prescribed medicines. If the local dispensary was well stocked, Takaungu residents would not have to travel all the way to Kilifi town to buy medicines. To get to Kilifi using public transport involves one taking a boda boda (scooter) ride from the village to the main road, that costs KSh50. After that, one has to spend an additional KSh50 on a matatu (minibus) to Kilifi town, which means spending KSh200 for the round trip. Many people have resorted to consulting traditional medicine-men when they are sick.”
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