BOMET, Kenya- Sixteen women die every day in Kenya from pregnancy-related causes, President William Ruto has said as he launched the construction of a specialised mother and baby hospital in Chebunyo, Bomet County.
President Ruto said many of the deaths could be prevented if women had timely access to qualified health workers, medicines, equipment and emergency obstetric care.
“No woman should lose her life while giving life. And no child should be denied a fair start because essential care is unavailable,” Ruto said.
The President spoke on Saturday while laying the foundation stone for the Chebunyo Amsons Mother and Baby Hospital in Chepalungu.
The proposed Level 4 hospital will have between 200 and 250 beds and provide specialised services for mothers and newborns.
These will include antenatal care, labour and delivery services, obstetric intensive care, postnatal care, newborn services and neonatal intensive care.
The hospital will also have dedicated maternity and neonatal theatres, an isolation unit, a mothers’ hostel, a pharmacy and health-information services.
Ten hospitals planned across Kenya
The Chebunyo facility is part of the Mama na Mtoto Kwanza Initiative, through which Amsons Group will invest $35 million, approximately Sh4.5 billion, as a grant to establish 10 mother and baby hospitals across Kenya.
“Together, they will expand bed capacity, strengthen emergency obstetric services and give thousands of mothers and babies a better chance of surviving and thriving,” Ruto said.
Construction of the Chebunyo hospital is expected to be completed within six months, with its commissioning scheduled for March 2027.
“This timetable must be honoured, the required standards must be upheld and every shilling must deliver value to the people,” the President directed.
Ruto said fewer than half of Kenya’s health facilities provide maternity services, while only about one-third offer emergency obstetric care.
Kenya has approximately 12 hospital beds for every 10,000 people, against the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of at least 25.
Level 4 hospitals currently have 6,231 beds against an estimated national requirement of 18,900. Twenty-six counties account for approximately 60 per cent of maternal and neonatal deaths.
Bomet records better maternal health indicators
Bomet’s neonatal mortality rate stands at 17 deaths for every 1,000 live births, below the national average of 21.
The county has an infant mortality rate of 26 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared with the national figure of 32. Its under-five mortality rate stands at 28, against a national average of 41.
More than 75 per cent of births in Bomet are attended by skilled healthcare workers, while over 79 per cent of children are fully immunised.
Ruto said the Government had allocated an additional Sh4 billion through the Social Health Authority to cover pregnant women, Sh1 billion for maternal and newborn commodities and Sh2.5 billion for family-planning services.
He added that 5,000 nurses and midwives were being recruited and deployed across the country.
“From this foundation will rise a hospital. Within that hospital, mothers will be protected, newborns will receive a fair beginning and families will find hope,” Ruto said.
