TURKANA – Turkana County is set to receive a new 300-bed Level 5 comprehensive referral hospital under a Sh29 billion National Government investment aimed at expanding specialised healthcare services across 13 counties.
The proposed facility comes at a time when Turkana continues to face significant health challenges, including acute malnutrition, limited access to healthcare in remote areas and gaps in specialised medical services. A 2026 study found that global acute malnutrition among children under five in Turkana stood at 34.8 per cent in 2023, more than twice the 15 per cent emergency threshold.
The county’s vast geography, largely pastoralist population and recurrent droughts have also made access to health and nutrition services difficult, particularly for communities living far from established health facilities. Recent county efforts have included emergency integrated nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in areas affected by worsening drought.
The new hospital is expected to strengthen Turkana’s capacity to provide specialised and critical care closer to residents, reducing the need for patients requiring advanced treatment to travel long distances or seek services outside the county.
The planned hospitals are expected to have modern diagnostic and treatment services, including at least 16 Intensive Care Unit beds and 10 High Dependency Unit beds, alongside modern medical equipment and climate-resilient infrastructure.
Turkana Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai on Thursday joined Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and other leaders during a high-level consultative meeting in Nairobi to review plans for the establishment of the new Level 5 hospitals.
Lomorukai reaffirmed the County Government’s commitment to working with the National Government to ensure the Turkana project is successfully implemented and responds to the healthcare needs of the county’s growing population.
“As health is a devolved function, I reaffirmed the County Government’s commitment to working closely with the National Government to ensure the project is successfully implemented and responds to the healthcare needs of our growing population,” Lomorukai said in a statement.
The Sh29 billion programme is being implemented under a Presidential directive and is intended to strengthen county-level healthcare while easing pressure on national referral hospitals. The Government says beneficiary counties were selected based on factors including population size, disease burden and existing health infrastructure.
For Turkana, implementation will require close coordination between the two levels of government, particularly on land, approvals, utilities, staffing and operational preparedness before the facility becomes fully functional.
The project presents a major opportunity to strengthen Turkana’s health infrastructure and improve access to specialised and critical care, particularly for residents in remote areas who face challenges accessing advanced medical services.
