In February 2022, Simon Kimwele, a resident of Wikithuki village in Kitui County, received a phone call that would change his life forever. The local area chief urged him to rush his son to the hospital immediately, as the child was showing all the symptoms of kala-azar, scientifically known as visceral leishmaniasis, a potentially fatal disease if not treated in time.

“I had been away from home for several months, and the chief had noticed my son’s health deteriorating over time. When he called, I panicked and rushed home,” Kimwele recalls.