KENYA – Kenya has upgraded various hospitals and commissioned the construction of new centres to serve people living in sub-counties who are disadvantaged when it comes to seeking quality healthcare.

Kisii County Government in Kenya has launched a newly built mother-child block with a 300-bed capacity at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH) to improve access to maternal neonatal health services.

The county government also inaugurated a 100-bed modern hospital at Nduru in South Mugirango and Marani in Kitutu Chache in efforts geared towards enhancing access to improved health services to residents living in the sub-counties.

The two modern hospitals encompass inpatient, outpatient, pediatric wards, theatres and causalities units with modern diagnostic equipment while the Kenyenya Level 4 Hospital in Kisii County was revamped with a modern theatre, children welfare clinic and a sunk borehole.

In addition, the county government has partnered with Aga Khan Foundation to construct an ICT Centre with an internet connection in Kenyenya Level 4 Hospital that enables healthcare workers to consult medical workers in various hospitals through an E-learning platform.

The Kisii County Government has also completed the construction of a modern mortuary in the Bomachoge Borabu sub-county in a move to decongest the KTRH modern morgue and delivered ten ambulances to various sub-county hospitals to enhance emergency handling and referrals to save lives.

Meanwhile, Kenya has kicked off the construction of a new private wing at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) in Kisumu County to enhance quality service delivery to the public at an affordable fee while boosting the facility’s dwindling revenue collection.

New measures have also been initiated at the referral facility including the establishment of a critical care unit, increasing the number of medical students enrolled at the JOOTRH training school and introducing the service fee for people seeking nutrition advice.

JOOTRH CEO Dr. George Rae said the private wing will be launched by end of June 2022 to offer world class health care services to clients at an affordable rate while maximizing revenue collection to facilitate the operations of the referral facility.

The new venture is also intended to position the hospital as the leading health provider in the region since patients can choose from the pool of services offered at JOOTRH at different rates including selecting the type of care or treatment for a condition and the preferred doctor.

In addition, Nyeri County Government has begun the final phase of the Narumoru Level 4 Hospital construction project at the cost of KES72 million (US$620,000) expected to be operationalized by August, the first phase of the facility was constructed at KES229 million (US$ 1.96M).

Nyeri County Governor Mutahi Kahiga revealed that the county received financing to develop the multimillion-shilling hospital after Nyeri was ranked second nationally under the Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KDSP) supported by World Bank.

Subsequently, Nyeri County must adhere to the law in Public Finance Management, have elaborate county plans and update the County Integrated Development Plan in accordance to the KDSP parameters.

“Narumoru hospital is one of two state-of-the-art projects constructed in partnership with the County Government of Nyeri and the World Bank. The other project is the Asian Quarters Bus Termini, the first phase of the project costs KES600 million (US$5.13M),” Governor Mutahi added.

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