Handing over
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) has officially handed over the Karuri Medically Assisted Therapy (MAT) clinic to Kiambu County government. They have been managing the clinic for the last five years in collaboration with the County government and Kenya Prisons Services.
Located in Kiambaa Sub County, the clinic specializes in rehabilitating drug addicts, particularly those using opioids like heroin but also offers vital medical substitutes that reduced health risks and fatalities associated with drug use.
During the handing over, MSF’s Country Director in Kenya Dr. Edi Atte said the MAT clinics adopted a comprehensive approach beyond just opioid substitution.
“This clinic provides services such as preventing infections like HIV and viral hepatitis caused by unsterile needle use, treating tuberculosis, offering mental health support, and facilitating reintegration into families and communities. He added that the clinic not only provides prescription drugs for pain relief and addiction treatment but also emphasizes harm reduction.
This approach aims at mitigating the adverse health, social, legal, and financial consequences of drug addiction and in order to support social reintegration and economic self-sufficiency, stable patients who are in school or employed receive up to two weeks’ worth of dosage,” Dr. Atte said.
He further said that for those unable to visit daily due to illness or other reasons, daily doses were delivered to their homes or hospitals by peer educators properly securered, packaged and stored at home if necessary. Since its inception, the Karuri MAT clinic has benefitted 1,619 people who use drugs (PWUDs) with 556 currently under its care.
Additionally, MSF also handed over two more MAT clinics to Kenya Prison Services, located at Ruiru Prisons Staff Training College Health Centre and Thika GK Prison, serving both incarcerated individuals and community members. Kiambu County’s Executive Committee Member for Health Dr. Elias Maina affirmed the county’s commitment to continuing MAT services post-MSF’s departure.
“Healthcare workers have been trained to ensure seamless clinic management and patient care,” he said.
Dr. Maina noted that Karuri MAT clinic represents a crucial healthcare initiative in Kiambu County, addressing drug addiction through comprehensive medical and social support services.
The integrated package of care has demonstrated an effective way of ensuring increased access of health care services for PWUDs with good outcomes especially for those with comorbidities besides substance use disorder. The exceptional take home doses have played a big role in ensuring social reintegration for PWUD.
Kiambu County, known for its high number of PWUDs, particularly heroin users, benefits greatly from these services. The clinic is conveniently located at Karuri Level 4 Hospital in Banana ward.
In Kenya there are an estimated 26,673 PWUDs with 1310 being from Kiambu County. In 2019, MSF in collaboration with Kiambu County government started a One-stop-shop Medically Assisted Therapy (MAT) clinic in Karuri Level 4 hospital for PWUD dependent on opioids.