One of the four goals outlined in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big 4 Agenda is the universal health coverage (UHC) goal that seeks to provide affordable health care for all.
In the 2020/21 budget to Parliament on Thursday, June 11, the Health Ministry was allocated Ksh111.4 Billion.
For UHC to be achieved, there is a need for equitable health access and improved quality of health services.
Investments have been made in that regard, with the establishment of health facilities in various regions by the national government.
At the same time, health being a devolved unit, the County governments have also taken to improve medical services to the residents.
1. Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital
On September 10 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta presided over the official opening of Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital.
The 650-bed capacity National Referral Hospital is well equipped to offer services in Oncology, Trauma & Orthopedics among other specialised areas.
The Hospital is located along Northern Bypass Road near Kahawa West, Nairobi and has taken centre stage in the management of Covid-19 cases in the country.
2. Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital - Mombasa County
The Mombasa county government in partnership with the national government set up a comprehensive cancer centre that nearing completion.
The centre is set to provide reprieve for cancer patients in Mombasa and the Coast Region at large.
The ultra-modern facility will also include Radiotherapy treatment. This is the first centre of its kind in the region and very soon patients requiring radiotherapy from the coast will not have to go to Nairobi to seek the treatment.
It will be readily available at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital at affordable rates.
The facility will be a major boost to the existing Day Care Chemotherapy Centre.
3. The Makueni Mother and Child Hospital - Makueni County
Commissioned in 2018, The Makueni Mother and Child Hospital became the regional specialist referral facility for maternal and child health services.
The facility serves an estimated catchment population of close to 100,000 and was the first public hospital to offer aqua-birthing services in the country.
In what earned Governor Kivutha Kibwana praises, the county spent Ksh135 Million for both the construction and equipping of the facility.
The Mother and Child hospital has wards where it accommodates 120 adults and 80 neonates at a time.
Besides the Mother and Child Hospital, the County Government of Makueni has invested heavily in the improvement of health services especially maternal and child health.
“The county government has increased physical access to health care. For example, we have in the last five years doubled the number of physical facilities from the initial 109 facilities in 2013 to the current number of 232 operational facilities in 2018.
"This has reduced the average distance to access a health care facility from 9km to 4.5 km currently,” Kibwana stated in 2018.
4. Murang’a County Hospital - Murang'a County
Construction of specialised cancer and research hospital kicked off in Murang’a County in July 2020.
The facility, estimated to be constructed and equipped at an estimated cost of Ksh.2 billion is expected to admit the first patient by January 2021.
Governor Mwangi wa Iria during the groundbreaking ceremony for the 7-storey building at Murang’a county hospital disclosed that the exercise would be concluded in six months’ time to ensure that local patients received treatment at the facility.
He stated that the 300-bed capacity state-of-art facility would be equipped with modern equipment with the potential to diagnose early stages of cancer.
In May 2020, the government commissioned a 35-bed capacity ICU and in Gatanga, an orthopedic facility that is about to be completed.
5. Kakamega Referral hospital - Kakamega
Estimated to cost Ksh6.2 billion the 750-bed Kakamega County Teaching and Referral Hospital is expected to improve health services in the region.
Notable changes in the former Kakamega County General Hospital, being transformed into a referral hospital, including the establishment of renal and cancer units, installation of a CT Scan, MRI unit, X-Ray machines and hiring new staff.
Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya stated that the hospital was not only a step towards the realisation of universal healthcare but also medical tourism.
6. Naromoru Level Four Hospital - Nyeri County
Naromoru Level Four Hospital in Naromoru town, Kieni East Sub County is jointly funded by the County Government and the World Bank under the Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KDSP) at a cost of Ksh335 million.
Its completion is expected to ease the suffering of Kieni people who have not had any Level 4 Facility and have had to seek treatment in either Karatina, Nyeri, or Nyahururu hospitals.
The three-storeyed 175-bed capacity hospital will host key departments including; General OPD, Casualty, Pharmacy, Laboratory, Maternal and Child Health Unit, specialized clinics, maternity, inpatient wards (medicine, orthopaedic, surgical) and two operating theatres.
This hospital will guarantee the provision of surgical and inpatient services and ultimately contribute to the decongestion of the Nyeri County Referral Hospital.
