The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS)will on Wednesday launch three hospitals within the city .
The hospitals, which are all level three, include Githurai, Baba Dogo and Ngara.
Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned Mihang'o Level 3 hospital in Embakasi East constituency and the Mwiki Health Centre in Kasarani constituency.
This will bring the total number of NMS commissioned hospitals to 20.
Until February 2021, Nairobi’s healthcare system had been plagued with high costs for patient care, weak technical awareness on the patients, low drug availability and weak healthcare staff quality.
A study by the African Population and Health Research Centre in 2002 revealed that there are limited public health facilities in the slums of Nairobi.
Out of the the 125 health facilities serving the four biggest slum settlements in the county, only four were public, 106 were private for profit and 15 were private not-for-profit.
However, a night visit by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nairobi Metropolitan Services Director General Lt. Mohammed Badi during the peak of Covid-19 pandemic in July 2020 changed the game for the health access of residents in slums.
With a vision to have accessible and affordable healthcare in slums, Uhuru directed NMS to construct 24 hospitals.
At a cost of Sh2 billion, NMS was to set up the hospitals in Viwandani, Majengo, Mathare, Kayole, Soweto, Korogocho, Kawangware, Gitare Marigu, Mukuru Kwa Njenga, Mukuru Kwa Reuben, Kibera and Githurai 44.
19 out of the 24 health facilities would be built from scratch each at Sh70 million while the rest (five) would be rehabilitated for Sh 300 million.
10 out of the facilities to be built entirely will be level 2 hospitals and the rest will be level 3.
The number however, changed to 28 after more consultation in 2021.
Between February and October 2021, Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned 14 Level two and three hospitals to ensure the population of 3.1 million people living in informal settlements have access quality and affordable Health Services with ease.
For the first time, it has been noted that walk in patients have not only reduced in KNH but also in Mbagathi and Mama Lucy Hospitals.
A Level 2 health facility is also known as a dispensary and is run by clinical officers while a Level 3 facility is referred to as a health centre and is run by at least one doctor, clinical officers and nurses.
These hospitals include Gichagi in Kangemi, Mukuru Kwa Reuben, Tassia Kwa Ndege and Our Lady of Nazareth in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, which were opened in July last year .
The Uthiru, Kiamaiko, Soweto-Kayole, Ushirika and Green Park hospitals were opened in February.
This year, the Head of State commissioned the 15th hospital, Mathare-Korogocho Level 5 Hospital which was renamed Mama Margaret Kenyatta Hospital.
The Sh400 million five-storey hospital will reduce the patient load at Mama Lucy Hospital, which serves more than 2.1 million people in the Eastlands area.
