The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) will launch 12 new hospitals in informal settlements in Nairobi in the next two weeks.
NMS Director-General Mohammed Badi said the facilities are ready and awaiting commissioning by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The 12 facilities, which are also fully equipped, are part of 24 hospitals that NMS is constructing to improve access to affordable healthcare in Nairobi’s informal settlements.
“A total of 12 of the new hospitals are ready for commissioning. We are hoping in the next two weeks His Excellency the President will give us guidance on opening them,” Badi told the Senate Health Committee.
The NMS boss had appeared before the committee to answer queries on the use of Covid-19 funds.
So far, Uhuru has opened four Level 2 hospitals: Uthiru-Muthua Level 3 Hospital, Kiamaiko, Kayole-Soweto, and Ushirika in Dandora.
The President also opened the dispensary at the Green Park terminal.
Gatina hospital in Kawangware and Gichagi in Kangemi are also operational although they have not been officially commissioned.
Badi also noted that the remaining eight hospitals were to be operational by the end of June but a delay arose from the process of acquiring land in informal settlements.
He said they are at an advanced stage of construction and will be complete by the first week of July.
“We resolved the issues of land and we are now on course to have all the hospitals completed by July,” he told the Senate committee.
NMS received Sh2 billion for the construction of the new hospitals, with 19 being built from scratch at a cost of Sh70 million each. The remaining five used a total of Sh300 million to be upgraded.
At the same time, Badi said that through savings, they have built three extra hospitals in addition to the 24.
“We were given money for the 24 hospitals but due to our savings on other departments, we asked Treasury to transfer the money to the health sector and we were given authority,” Badi said.
NMS has also hired 2,000 healthcare workers, among them 44 specialists, 679 nurses, and 130 doctors to ensure efficient service delivery in all the 24 new hospitals and other facilities in all 84 wards in Nairobi.
