The government has completed the upgrading of maternal and newborn care units at Kikumini and Kako Health Centres in Makueni County, paving the way for the facilities to be officially handed over to the county government.
The project is expected to improve access to quality maternal and newborn healthcare for thousands of families by bringing modern maternity services closer to local communities.
The upgraded facilities are part of the Maternal and Newborn Care Units Upgrade Project, a joint initiative between the Kenyan and Finnish governments aimed at improving maternal and newborn health services across the country.
Both health centres have been fitted with modern maternity infrastructure, including antenatal and postnatal wards, delivery rooms, sterilisation rooms, nurses’ stations, doctors’ consultation rooms, waiting bays and improved sanitation facilities for patients and staff.
They have also been equipped with essential medical equipment such as neonatal resuscitation machines, phototherapy units, radiant warmers, oxygen systems, patient monitoring devices and sterilisation equipment to enhance the quality of care for mothers and newborns.
The project is financed through Mizuho Bank Europe N.V. on behalf of the Government of Finland under a financing agreement signed between Kenya and Finland in 2021. VAMED Health Projects Finland Oy is implementing the project as the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contractor. The programme covers the upgrading of maternal and newborn care infrastructure in 20 public health facilities across the country.
Ahead of the official handover, a technical inspection led by the Head of Health Infrastructure, Projects and Grants Management, Dr Hezron Omollo, confirmed that the two facilities have been substantially completed and are ready for use.
The inspection established that only minor finishing works remain before the facilities are formally handed over and operationalised.
According to health experts, the new maternity wards are set to create a safe environment for deliveries, improve care for newborn babies, and enhance the ability of health workers to deliver quality services in the county.
This project is also aimed at contributing to the initiatives of the government to reduce deaths of mothers and newborns that could have been prevented. This will help the government in implementing the universal health coverage program of the country.
