NAIROBI, Kenya — Veteran journalist Janet Mbugua is set to make her return to television with a new health-focused programme on NTV, nearly two months after stepping away from the broadcaster’s Fixing the Nation show.
Mbugua announced the comeback through a video shared on her social media platforms, revealing that she will host Healthy Nation, a weekly programme that premieres on Sunday and will air every week at 6 p.m.
The award-winning journalist said the new show aligns with her long-standing passion for health advocacy, an area she has championed over the years through campaigns on mental health and menstrual health.
“I am starting a new show this Sunday on NTV at 6 pm. I transitioned, stepped back to come back and do something I can sustain, something along the line that I am really passionate about, which is health,” Mbugua said.
She explained that Healthy Nation will examine a wide range of healthcare issues affecting Kenyans and communities across the globe, extending beyond conversations on mental health.
“We have a healthcare crisis in many parts of the world, not just Kenya. Whether it’s health justice, dignity or policy, the diseases that are visible and those that are not,” she said.
Mbugua added that access to quality healthcare remains one of the biggest challenges facing many people, posing questions about the impact of inadequate medical services on citizens’ well-being.
“How can you have a citizen who can show up and be the best version of themselves if healthcare is compromised? If almost every one of us is one incident away from needing emergency services which we cannot afford,” she posed.
She said those realities inspired her to develop the programme, which will feature conversations around healthcare policy, access to medical services and broader public health issues.
The broadcaster’s return comes nearly two months after she exited Fixing the Nation, where she served as a co-host for more than a year alongside other seasoned journalists.
At the time of her departure, Mbugua said joining the programme had been a natural extension of her advocacy and active citizenship work on a mainstream media platform.
In her farewell message, she hinted that her time away from television would be brief, describing her departure as an early exit and noting that she typically spends between three and seven years in a media role before moving on.
Mbugua is one of Kenya’s best-known broadcast journalists, having built a career as a news anchor, author, actress and gender equality advocate. She previously worked at Citizen TV before joining NTV.
