By: Mourlyne Atieno Odhiambo
My name is Mourlyne Odhiambo, a Community Health Officer (CHO) in Suba North Sub-County, Kenya coordinating community health services at Mbita Township B Community Health Unit (CHU), Homa Bay County, Kenya. I work alongside a team of dedicated Community Health Promoters (CHPs) to educate families, screen for health conditions, and link people to care at the community level.
In recent years, our community has seen a rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and cancer. Unlike malaria or other infectious diseases, NCDs are often called silent killers because they develop slowly and are usually detected too late.
This story shares our journey between March and December 2025, showing how grassroots health workers like me are helping people prevent and manage NCDs while breaking barriers of stigma and misinformation.
At the start of the year, I noticed a worrying trend during home visits. Many adults complained of frequent headaches, fatigue, and chest pains, but most assumed these were normal signs of aging or stress. Few had ever had their blood pressure or blood sugar checked.
One case that deeply moved me was Mama Akinyi, a 52-year-old fish trader. For months, she had been feeling dizzy and weak but relied on painkillers. During a routine community health screening, we discovered that her blood pressure was abnormally high. She was at risk of a stroke.
Another case involved John, a boda boda rider who struggled with frequent asthma attacks. He had stopped going to the clinic because he felt ashamed and feared being judged.
These situations revealed a larger issue: limited awareness and fear of seeking care. Many people in our community believe that NCDs are curses or caused by witchcraft, so they often seek traditional remedies instead of medical treatment. Community members seek treatment late, which results in irreversible complications.
To address these challenges, our team developed a multi-pronged approach made up of community screening days, health education and counseling, referral and follow-up and community support groups:
Community Screening Days
Working with Mbita Sub-County Hospital, we organised free screening events in churches, schools, and marketplaces. We checked for blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and weight while educating people on risk factors like diet, alcohol use, and physical inactivity.
Health Education and Counselling
We used Dialogue Days to dispel myths about NCDs. For instance, we explained that high blood pressure is not a curse but can be managed with proper medication and lifestyle changes. Through home visits, I counselled individuals like Mama Akinyi and John on how to take their medication consistently and avoid triggers such as salty food or dusty environments.
Referral and Follow-Up
Mama Akinyi was linked to the hospital for further management. I also followed up weekly to ensure she took her medication and attended clinic appointments. For John, I worked with a nurse to create an asthma action plan and encouraged him to rejoin his treatment program without fear of stigma.
Community Support Groups
With the help of local leaders, we established peer support groups where people living with NCDs share experiences and encourage each other to stay committed to healthy living. These groups have become safe spaces for learning and healing.
Our efforts have brought remarkable transformation in just a few months. Mama Akinyi’s blood pressure is now under control, and she has become an advocate for NCD awareness in her fish trading group. John no longer misses work due to asthma attacks and now educates other boda boda riders about the importance of seeking care. In our community, we screened over 350 people for hypertension and diabetes between March and December, and successfully linked 80% to care. Stigma around NCDs has decreased, as more people openly talk about their conditions and support one another.
Through our work, we have shown how early detection saves lives, that empowering communities with information reduces fear and stigma and, perhaps most importantly, that CHWs are essential in bridging the gap between hospitals and households.
Non-communicable diseases are on the rise, especially in low-resource communities. To policymakers and stakeholders, I say:
- Increase funding for community-based screening programs;
- Provide CHWs with training, tools, and diagnostic equipment to detect NCDs early; and
- Integrate NCD management into primary healthcare to ensure continuity of care.
We cannot fight NCDs from hospitals alone – the fight begins in our homes and villages.
My dream is to see a community where no life is lost to preventable NCD complications. In the coming year, I hope to expand our screening activities to reach even more vulnerable groups, especially youth who are increasingly affected by lifestyle-related illnesses. We must support community health workers and the systems that facilitate their work so that no one suffers in silence from preventable diseases.
