A study has shown that Nairobi and Kiambu Counties lead with the highest number of burned victims.

As the country joins the Fire Safety and Burns Awareness week, LPG gas fires accidents have been on the rise as well as gender-related burns.

According to the study, most of the patients are from Nairobi and Kiambu counties with 72 per cent of all burns in Nairobi reported mostly in congested areas of Kibra, Kayole, Mathare, Kawangware, Mukuru and Pipeline.

Chairman of the Burn Society of Kenya, Dr Shaban Saidi, says that the ministry of health so far has reported 213,770 burns in 2020 compared to 248,962 reported cases in 2019 and 185,539 reported cases in 2018, respectively. 

That means that there was a significant decrease in cases that were reported in 2020 when the country was at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic due to casualties not reporting to health facilities. 

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“Most cases of fires at homes are caused by human errors such as; drunkenness domestic violence, leaving cooking stoves unattended to electrical overloads and leaving flammable items near the fire,” said Dr Shaban Chairman of Burn Society of Kenya.

A concern has been raised over gender-based violence GBV, which has been identified as a key player of total poverty making burn treatment for women who are mostly the victims.

Statistics show women suffer from intentional burns delivered as a form of punishment by their partners and have a hard time in seeking treatment than men as their health is always undervalued. 

The campaign will kick off from 20th to 24th September and is themed "Zingatia Usalama wa jamii" Its focus will be on gender violence-related burns and reducing gas explosions. 

The Burns Society of Kenya and its affiliates stakeholders will visit some of the major informal settlements in Nairobi and Kisumu county to conduct civic education on fire prevention and safety tips at home.

The government has committed to fasten the completion of the new state of an art burns centre, which will see improved care to burn patients and reduce both short-term and long-term complications.