Locals from Kilulu area of Kyuso ward, in Mwingi North, have for the last 9 years been walking 20 kilometers to get medical aid even after Akamba Aid Fund (AAF), a local NGO, constructed a dispensary for the locals in 2013.
However, the health center has remained closed, and the available drugs expired in 2019.
A house to accommodate a nurse who was supposed to attend to locals in the dispensary has remained unoccupied.
According to locals, no nurse was deployed to the facility by the county government.
John Kathanzu, a local pastor, said they have severally written to the county government since 2014 to ensure a nurse is deployed to the facility.
However, this was not actualized nine years after its construction, stocking of drugs, and relevant equipment.
He said when loved ones fall sick; they are forced to use boda bodas which are very expensive.
He called on the county government to intervene and save locals from walking tens of kilometers to seek medical attention as medicine in the nearby facility expires.
Beatrice Katwii, a community health volunteer, said women giving birth had had a great challenge where most babies have been delivered on the way to the hospital, posing a health risk to both the mother and the newborn.
Dr.James Buckle, a trustee of the NGO, said the organization based in England has been supporting area locals by constructing health centers for the last 25 years.
He said the locals have suffered while drugs expired at the facility three years ago.
He urged the local leaders to lobby and have the county government deploy a nurse.
Munyoki Mwinzi, the area MCA, said the fully equipped facility only needs a nurse.
He urged Governor Julius Malombe to ensure he prioritizes deploying a medic to attend to locals.
He added that it punishes the residents, especially the elderly.