Work Related Ill Heath among Farm Workers at Ahero Irrigation Scheme, Kenya

The Kenya government has identified agriculture as one of the drivers to its vision of becoming a middle income country by the year 2030 since it is one of the key drivers of the economy. To achieve the vision, it intends to increase the land under irrigation and facilitate provision of inputs and value addition of the crops that will be produced. The aim of this research was to evaluate the work related ailments that affect the farm workers at Ahero irrigation scheme that may make it difficult for the government to achieve its vision. Data was collected from 4 health care providers located within the rice growing section of Ahero by use of a questionnaire. The HCP was required to fill in ten endemic ailments attended to on a daily basis at their facility which included both public and private facilities. The study identified malaria to be the most prevalent ailment in the irrigation scheme at 39.3 % which was higher than the national data of 18.7 %. All the HCPs recorded treating cases of malaria and wounds while private HCPs recorded higher cases of STI than the public ones. Other ailments reported in the scheme includes gastrointestinal ailments (11.1 %), skin ailments (10.7 %), Pneumonia (8.6 %) and wounds (10.4) among others. The study concluded that farm workers at Ahero irrigation scheme were at a greater risk to work related diseases than the rest of the population. The study recommends development of malaria prevention strategy and education on hygiene and safe system of work in addition to provision of clean drinking water and good sanitation in the farms.