Since Independence, pregnant women and the sick from the Ogiek community in Mt Elgon Forest had to be carried on people's backs, wooden stretchers and donkey carts to the nearest hospital, 23km away. The struggle has lessened since the Bungoma government set up the first dispensary in Mt Elgon Forest to serve the marginalised Ogiek community. The Chepkitale dispensary serves 400 patients a month from a population of about 7,000 people. Elder Phillip Cheluget, 85, said the facility has offered relief to pregnant women who in the past died while trekking through the forest at night to deliver babies at Kapsokwony hospital. “We used to carry pregnant women and the sick on wooden stretchers, donkeys and on our shoulders, but we were relieved after the establishment of the facility," he said.

Source: The Star May 17, 2021 18:56 UTC