This archive report was first published on 23 August 2020.
Home-based care for Covid-19 has become a reality for many Kenyans, but the costs associated with it can be overwhelming. Jerotich Seii and Eva Mutua, two women who opted for home-based care after testing positive for Covid-19, share their experiences of incurring significant expenses.
Jerotich tested positive on July 22, at a private laboratory run by International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Nairobi. She self-isolated for days, but the expenses soon added up. 'The cost of home-based care is very high because you pay for everything yourself,' she says.
Jerotich spent more than Sh60,000 on initial and subsequent tests for herself, her husband, and her house help. She also had to buy antibiotics, malaria drugs, anti-histamines, anti-inflammatory drugs, cough medication, zinc, and multivitamins. Her weekly grocery shopping doubled from Sh2,500 to more than Sh5,000.
Eva Mutua, on the other hand, tested positive after returning to Nairobi from Pretoria, South Africa, where she had travelled for treatment and got stuck due to Covid-19 related travel restrictions. She spent Sh30,000 for the 40 days she was in isolation and another Sh30,000 on over-the-phone consultations from the time she went into self-quarantine.
Both women had to enhance their diets, which added to their expenses. Eva's house-help moved in to care for her, and she formed a WhatsApp support group. Jerotich made an arrangement with her husband to be on standby in case her condition worsened or she needed to be taken to a hospital.
They now hope that their respective insurance companies will reimburse the money they spent during home-based care. Above all, they hope the government will step in to support poor patients self-isolating at home.
Source: Standard.co.ke
