Mother
Ruai, Nairobi, Kenya

• Question:   What do you do when your children fall sick?
  Ans: My children are all grown up but mothers here complain about taking their children to the nearest government health facility, about 5 km away, and about not getting proper healthcare. There is either no drug available or the doctor is not there.
  
  
• Question:  Do you know any mothers whose children died before they were five years old?
  Ans: Yes.
  
  
• Question: Do you know why they died?
  Ans: My neighbour’s 10-month-old son died of pneumonia recently.
  
  
• Question: Do you know any mothers who died when they were pregnant?
  Ans: No. However, a few days ago, we had a pregnant woman who was ready to give birth. We did not have transportation to take her to a health centre so we had to pay a neighbourhood doctor to help her to deliver her baby late at night.
  
  
• Question:  Are mothers and children healthier this year?
  Ans: I do not think so. Mothers are in danger if they are prevented from giving birth in hospitals by factors such as a long distance to the health facility and shortage of health staff.
  
  
• Question: If you could ask your president for one thing to make the children in your village healthier, what would you ask for?
  Ans: An adequate supply of safe drinking water for all citizens.

Community health worker
Ruai, Nairobi, Kenya

• Question: How prevalent is malaria in the region?
  Ans: Out of the cases that we handle, more than half of them involve children less than five years of age.
  
  
• Question: What needs to be improved for fewer children to die from diseases like malaria?
  Ans: Drugs need to be available in government hospitals and there needs to be a sustained campaign for mosquito nets for vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children under five.
  
  
• Question: Have the health provisions by the government for the community gotten better, worse, or have they stayed the same over the last 10 years?
  Ans: The fact that lives continue to be lost because of faults in the health system means that very little progress has been made.
  
  
• Question: Is there any funding from the government to improve child health in the area?
  Ans: It is very limited compared to the overwhelming need for a health system that is supportive of child health.