Benetta arrived at the Merlin-supported Lodwar Hospital severely malnourished, vomiting blood and suffering from chronic diarrhea.
Recognising how dangerously sick she was, Ewoi Bengunn, the clinical officer in charge, immediately set to work, running intravenous fluids, intensive treatment for malnutrition and frontline antibiotics. 24 hours later, the results from Benetta’s chest X-ray and blood screen came in: Benetta is HIV-positive and suffering from tuberculosis (TB).
She is just five years old.
The potentially fatal pattern of TB and HIV
TB is the number one killer of people infected with HIV and this co-infection rate is rising rapidly throughout Sub Saharan Africa. In a remote, pastoralist community like Turkana, the effects are devastating.
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Turkana’s remoteness makes it a struggle to access treatment
Living across the vast, arid plains of north-west Kenya, families here struggle to keep their children well in a landscape plagued by constant drought, endemic diseases and overwhelming poverty. Few have access to even basic medical care with many living as far as 200 miles from the nearest hospital.
Mobile clinics: the most effective way to help pastoralists
Benetta is no exception. She suffered from TB when she was still a baby but because her family lived so far from Lodwar hospital, she never completed the six month treatment course. Luckily, Merlin has just been granted funds to run mobile clinics and nutrition programmes near Benetta’s home; so not only will she be able to receive supplementary feeding, Merlin’s teams can keep an eye on her and, if necessary, refer and transport her back to Lodwar for treatment.
Distance and poverty breed drug resistance
The story would have been dramatically different had Benetta contracted Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB). The only place able to diagnose and treat the infection is Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi – 505 kilometres away. The treatment course lasts two years with much of it spent as an in-patient. It also costs over £8,000. Few Turkanas could ever afford the travel let alone the treatment costs.
As it is, Ewoi is optimistic about Benetta’s future. She’ll be kept in hospital for a while yet, mainly to keep her TB treatment up and also to ensure she’s getting the nutrients she needs to help her body fight any other infections. As for her HIV, a treatment programme will be arranged just as soon as she’s well enough.
Ewoi’s main concern is how little the family is eating anyway, given the extent of the drought in the region, which has killed their livestock and any chance of earning any money. His dedication is admirable: he’s in fact volunteering his services this month, since the Government isn't able to pay him. “It’s rewarding actually. They need our help.”
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