NAIROBI, Kenya – The Nairobi County Government has begun constructing a 53-bed newborn unit at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital in a major step toward improving maternal and neonatal care in the city.
For years, expectant mothers in Nairobi have endured long waits and overcrowded maternity wards — challenges the new facility aims to ease while ensuring safer, more dignified births.
Mama Lucy Hospital Chief Executive Officer Fredrick Obwanda said the expansion would transform the hospital’s capacity to handle deliveries and improve outcomes for mothers and infants.
“Congestion has been one of our biggest challenges. The construction of this unit will provide enough space for mothers and promote skin-to-skin (kangaroo mother) care,” Obwanda said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
The newborn unit will feature dedicated spaces for kangaroo care, specialized treatment areas, and modern equipment to handle complications requiring immediate attention.
Hospital Board Chair Dorcus Kemunto said the project would “restore dignity” to mothers while easing the workload on health workers.
“Access to maternal health remains a challenge for many families, especially in densely populated, low-income areas where infrastructure is limited. This project directly addresses those gaps by prioritising maternal and child health,” she said.
Currently, Pumwani Maternity Hospital handles the bulk of Nairobi’s deliveries — up to 30,000 births annually — leaving other county facilities overstretched.
The launch comes at a time when public hospitals, including Kenyatta National Hospital, are struggling to cope with rising patient numbers amid the ongoing doctors’ strike.
Acting CEO Richard Lesiyampe noted that maternity departments in top-tier hospitals are operating at double capacity, with many patients arriving too late for effective intervention.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) recently claimed that at least 136 newborns had died during the four-month strike — figures county officials have disputed.
Once complete, the Mama Lucy newborn unit is expected to relieve pressure on referral hospitals, enhance neonatal survival rates, and strengthen Nairobi’s public health system under the county’s universal health agenda.
