Early detection of lung conditions is critical to saving lives, and the Nakuru county government wants to strengthen lung health services to ensure effective care.
The county’s Department of Health Services is conducting a series of sensitisation workshops for health workers and coordinators on lung health.
County Lung Health Coordinator Neimah Barasa said this initiative aims to deepen service delivery, strengthen sustainability and reduce the burden of TB and respiratory services by expanding training to different cohorts.
Healthcare workers are receiving hands-on experience with tools such as spirometry and systematic screening approaches to ensure more accurate diagnosis, prompt treatment and better patient outcomes.
Barasa noted that Nakuru was moving closer to a future where lung diseases are detected early, treated correctly and managed efficiently, therefore saving lives and protecting families across the county.
This initiative is being undertaken with support from the Clinton Health Access Initiative.
A new cohort of 50 healthcare workers began training on lung health screening and diagnosis this week, bringing together a mix of cadres drawn from both public and private health facilities.
The training comes on the heels of an earlier forum that brought together the first cohort of more than 100 practitioners from multiple subcounties to exchange best practices, improve screening and integrate lung health care into routine services.
Lung diseases in Nakuru county, including chronic conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchitis, are on the rise, prompting local health authorities to expand screening beyond tuberculosis.
The county’s health department is therefore keen on advancing the integrated lung health screening and diagnostic approach, an area that for a long time has received limited attention globally.
While tuberculosis care has attracted significant focus, other lung conditions are often misdiagnosed interchangeably, hence the need to have a systematic approach to screening and diagnosis.
Worldwide, many people are affected by chronic lung diseases including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, bronchiectasis, pulmonary hypertension, occupational lung diseases such as silicosis, and post-tuberculosis lung disease.
“Managing respiratory diseases from an early stage helps patients maintain their normal activities and reduces the impact of the disease on their daily lives, while early treatment and management can reduce the need for expensive hospitalisations and more intensive treatments later on,” Barasa said.
The coordinator affirmed that by detecting diseases early, patients could avoid serious complications such as respiratory failure, heart problems and other related conditions.
Respiratory illnesses remain the most common reasons for hospital visits in Kenya, according to data released in the Economic Survey 2025.
The report, published by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, highlights that chest-related illnesses accounted for the largest share of outpatient visits in 2024, contributing 30.2 per cent of the total 66.2 million disease cases.
This marks a significant rise from 22.4 per cent in 2023.
In 2024, the Ministry of Health acknowledged the surge in respiratory infections, particularly noting an increase in influenza cases and the continued monitoring of COVID-19 variants.
Health experts attribute the rise in respiratory cases to deteriorating air quality and unpredictable weather patterns across the country.
Additionally, respiratory illnesses among children are a major concern. According to the KNBS, respiratory diseases are one of the leading causes of child mortality, contributing to 16 per cent of all deaths in children under five. Pneumonia, in particular, is responsible for a large portion of these cases, with more than 80,000 children under five treated for pneumonia annually in Kenyan hospitals.
The World Health Organisation indicates that untreated respiratory conditions, such as asthma, COPD and pneumonia, can lead to serious and often irreversible health complications.
WHO further notes that if not properly managed, these conditions tend to worsen over time, resulting in reduced lung function and more frequent, intense symptoms such as shortness of breath and persistent coughing.
