Visiting West Pokot

After 2 hours on a dirt road and 2 more driving through dry river beds, canyons and red desert, out in rural West Pokot, you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. The people of West Pokot are nomadic pastoralists, and in a society where women and cattle enjoy approximately the same status, and female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced freely, it's no wonder that many women develop fistula during childbirth.

But, even out here you can buy a coke! And Habiba, One By One's Field Supervisor, manages to get cell reception. She talks with a Regional Representative about transporting a woman to Gynocare for fistula repair. Coca-Cola has done an incredible job of canvasing the globe with its product. And the cell phone infrastructure in Kenya is amazing. The government and the private sector have poured tons of money into wirelessly connecting the country. It's amazing that when money and priorities are aligned, people can bring product and infrastructure to even the most remote places in the world.

So why can't we do the same with hospitals? Women in West Pokot (and less rural parts of Kenya) still die in childbirth. The closest hospital is at least a day's walk away for most, and even if women make it to a health facility, it is often so under staffed and equipped, it can't do much to help women in need. But, if we shifted our money and our priorities, we could bring the people of West Pokot something they really need - better, well-equipped hospitals, healthy moms and babies, and an end to fistula.

A West Pokot woman with her baby

A West Pokot man with his cell phone

The "road" we drove on in West Pokot

Here's a short video clip of our drive