The national government, in partnership with county governments, is expanding access to modern medical equipment and specialized healthcare services as part of efforts to strengthen Kenya’s public health system and advance Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The Ministry of Health says the investment is designed to bring specialized diagnostic and treatment services closer to communities, reducing the need for patients to travel long distances or seek care at national referral hospitals for services that can increasingly be provided at county level.
Through the National Equipment Service Programme (NESP), the government has deployed 862 specialized medical equipment units across 251 health facilities in 44 counties, according to the Ministry of Health. The programme represents an investment of KSh9.6 billion and is intended to strengthen the ability of county hospitals to provide specialized services.
The Ministry says the expanded equipment capacity is helping to reduce unnecessary referrals, as patients can increasingly access specialized diagnosis and treatment closer to where they live. This is expected to reduce the financial and logistical burden associated with travelling to major referral hospitals.
NESP builds on the previous Medical Equipment Services programme and was introduced after the expiry of the earlier arrangement in December 2023. Under the new model, contracted vendors provide, install, maintain and upgrade equipment at county facilities, with payments made based on services delivered rather than requiring counties to meet the full equipment cost upfront.
The Ministry says the arrangement is intended to allow counties to concentrate more resources on patient care while ensuring that critical equipment remains available and functional. The programme covers areas including surgery, radiology and intensive care services.
The national and county governments have also established mechanisms to improve coordination and accountability in the rollout of the equipment programme. In April, the Ministry announced a cooperation framework bringing together national referral hospitals, the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the Digital Health Agency to accelerate the deployment of advanced medical equipment across the country.
The government is simultaneously investing in additional health infrastructure to complement the equipment programme. The Ministry recently announced plans for 13 new Level 5 comprehensive county referral hospitals, representing a projected investment of KSh29 billion. The facilities are intended to expand access to specialized care and reduce pressure on national referral hospitals.
The planned hospitals are part of a wider strategy to strengthen healthcare capacity at county level, with their locations determined by factors including population size, disease burden, existing health infrastructure and available financing.
The Ministry has announced plans to establish 10 specialised maternal and newborn health facilities, each with a capacity of 250 beds, in Nairobi, Bomet, Kwale, Mombasa, Garissa, Kisumu, Embu, Nakuru, West Pokot and Uasin Gishu counties.
According to the Ministry, these investments are aimed at ensuring that communities can access critical and specialized healthcare services without having to travel long distances to national referral facilities.
The expansion of medical equipment and specialized health infrastructure forms part of the government’s broader Universal Health Coverage agenda, which seeks to improve access to quality healthcare while reducing financial and geographical barriers to treatment.
The Ministry of Health says continued cooperation between the national government and counties will remain central to ensuring that the equipment is effectively deployed, maintained and used to deliver better health outcomes.
The investments therefore mark an effort to shift Kenya’s healthcare system towards stronger county-level capacity, allowing more patients to receive specialized services closer to home while easing pressure on the country’s major referral hospitals.
