President William Ruto has laid the foundation stone for a 580-bed student hostel at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) campus in Kapenguria, West Pokot County, in a KSh221 million investment under the Affordable Housing Programme.
The project is aimed at expanding student accommodation at the institution as the government pursues plans to strengthen healthcare training capacity and support the delivery of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Ruto also announced plans to construct 20 classrooms at the institution to accommodate more students and expand its capacity to train healthcare professionals.
The President said the additional facilities would help strengthen the training of medical personnel needed to support healthcare service delivery.
The planned construction of 20 classrooms is expected to provide additional learning space at the Kapenguria KMTC campus, complementing the new hostel facility.
Expanding training infrastructure is an important part of efforts to increase the number of healthcare professionals entering the workforce. The additional accommodation and classrooms are intended to support the institution’s capacity to enrol and train more students.
The hostel project is being implemented under the Affordable Housing Programme, which the government is also using to develop student accommodation infrastructure.
Ruto also highlighted healthcare coverage in West Pokot County, stating that 270,000 residents had registered with the Social Health Authority (SHA).
The registration figure comes amid the government’s efforts to expand access to healthcare financing through SHA as part of its Universal Health Coverage agenda.
Increasing the number of trained healthcare professionals is one of the factors that can support the delivery of healthcare services as access to health coverage expands. However, the actual impact will also depend on staffing, facility capacity, medical supplies and the availability of services across the county.
The Kapenguria KMTC projects form part of the government’s broader focus on healthcare training infrastructure, with the KSh221 million hostel expected to provide accommodation for 580 students and the proposed classrooms intended to expand learning capacity.
The government has not provided a completion date for the hostel or the 20 classrooms in the announcement.
