helping ICROSS

Women's health

ICROSS has focused on women's health and reproductive health care in its expansion of Maternal and child health programmes. ICROSS health services have provided comprehensive care for mothers and children for 30 years in Africa in a wide range of evidence based health projects.

Our health projects focus since 1983 on mothers and children in community owned initiatives. These are the most vulnerable to disease and malnutrition. The International Director/Founder Dr Michael Meegan said today "We are really interested in increasing the capacity of the communities we live with to deliver long term health services and change. This is a dynamic shared learning with a wide range of partners and friends."

Saruni Ole Lengeny added "Our work includes includes training local ICROSS health volunteers as counsellors, and carers community health. ICROSS is focused on interventions ranging from prevention, diarrhoea control and reducing blindness, nutrition and education to birth spacing and clinical services. Our reproductive health projects include family planning. We are planning new maternity units to improve prenatal care, labour and delivery services, and the prevention, detection and treatment of STDs, including HIV/AIDS."


ICROSS Maasai clinic celebrates 25 years of programmes

Saruni Ole Lengeny announced today that ICROSS will celebrate twenty five years of health programmes at one of our longest serving clinics. After the 1983 drought we worked with communities and villages to provide long term health services owned and run by the communities. By early 1985 we began building funded by the British High Commission. Together with Paul Ole Lasoi, Danieal and Supuk OleNtilai we opened a nutrition programme for Maasai villages in the area. Now 25 years later there is a dynamic health programme serving Many Maasai communities across Maasai land. Following earlier successes building clinics serving the Nomadic communities ICROSS extending Mother and child health, Malaria control and child survival.

The Founder and International Director Dr Michael Meegan met with Maasai leaders today to plan celebrations of Inyonyori Clinic. He said "When I first came here many years ago I decided to work with the communities towards a long term health plan, this would take a life time. We are all excited to see the impact of long term community health and the real change in community owned health systems". The ICROSS model is based on health systems that are people owned and driven.

"We built earlier dispensaries, but this is the one that has co ordinated most of the famine relief, child survival and safe motherhood" said Saruni.

It has served the Maasai Communities since July 1985. There will be events and community celebrations over the next few months to mark the occasion.


Internet stories on primary health care

ICROSS extends primary health care programmes. For 30 years, the emphasis of ICROSS primary care has been improving immunisation, creating support mechanisms for public health and community medicine and establishing innovations in disease control, reproductive health and nutrition. In 1981 the founder Dr Michael Meegan launched his first disease control programme. This focused on disease supplements that would benefit children under five and women in the post natal stage.

Immunisation programmes have since the beginning of our programmes reached 14 districts and in all of our operational clinical services, we are immunising 90% of children between 9 months and 4 years old. Every ICROSS clinic and programme is based upon community responsibility and ownership in managing their primary healthcare/public health programme. ICROSS has greatly expanded the concept of primary health care. It includes social equity, reproductive health responsibility and safe sex. The rights of women to choose comprehensive child survival and focused safe motherhood. The centre of our primary health care programmes measurable impact in maternal and child health.

When Prof David Morley began working with ICROSS in 1981, he introduced the fundamental concept of children teaching children basic health promotion. A critical component of the success was the fact that the communities owned the decision making and the health prioritisation. Today (20th April 2011), we are extending the work created by Prof David Morley and building new diarrhoea control, neonatal tetanus and neonatal control. The success of reproductive health interventions have resulted in a dramatic decrease in maternal morbidity, mortality and suffering. We remain committed to the long term reduction in neonatal tetanus, malaria, trachoma, sexually transmitted infection, tropical dermatitis, water borne diseases and all preventable diseases cause by injustice, poverty and hunger.

Dr Michael Meegan met today with Ministry of Health nurses working in ICROSS programmes to discuss strategies for improvements in ICROSS long term disease prevention and public health activities. In partnership with the govt of Kenya and working within the UN, UNICEF, and WHO frameworks, ICROSS is building long term strategic policies for and with communities that will determine the long term focus of our maternal child health care for the next decade.





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