Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has linked his personal experience of being born prematurely to his administration’s efforts to strengthen maternal and newborn healthcare services across the capital.
Speaking on the second day of the Kenya Health Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Sakaja recounted the difficult pregnancy history of his late mother, saying his family lost three children before his eldest sister was born.
“Many people may not know why I am very passionate about issues of maternal mortality,” Sakaja said.
He said his mother experienced serious complications during pregnancy and was advised by doctors to have only two children.
“My late mother had lost three children before my eldest sister was born. She had difficulty with pregnancy, so the first three died,” he said.
According to Sakaja, his father later insisted on having another child because he wanted a son, despite the earlier medical advice.
Sakaja said he was eventually born prematurely in the 1980s, at a time when specialised care for premature babies was not readily available.
“I was born premature, and in the 80s, I think it was very difficult to get an incubator,” he said.
He recalled being transferred to another health facility, where he spent a considerable amount of time in an incubator before eventually surviving.
“I was in an incubator for a long time, and now I’m here. By the way, I survived,” Sakaja said.
The governor said his personal experience later shaped his approach to healthcare after taking office in Nairobi.
He said he was concerned to discover that the capital had no neonatal intensive care units at the time, prompting him to push for an expansion of specialised newborn services.
“I said this story must change,” Sakaja said.
According to the governor, Nairobi now has 23 neonatal intensive care unit beds and 224 beds in newborn units, following investments made by the county government in recent years.
He said expansion and improvement of maternal and newborn services is ongoing at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Mbagathi Hospital, Mama Margaret Uhuru Hospital and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital.
Sakaja also highlighted the expansion of kangaroo mother care, a method in which premature or low-birth-weight babies receive skin-to-skin contact with a parent to support their development and help regulate body temperature.
The governor said fathers are also being encouraged to participate in the practice.
“We have now encouraged men, the fathers, to also do kangaroo,” he said.
Sakaja said his own experience has also influenced the way he encourages parents whose babies are born prematurely.
He said he often reassures mothers that a baby being born small does not determine what they can achieve later in life.
“Don’t worry if your child is born small. Even me, I was born small. Your child can become a governor, can become a lawyer, can become a doctor,” he said.
The governor also pointed to what he described as improvements at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, saying the facility has recorded zero maternal deaths.
He described Pumwani as a major maternal healthcare facility, saying it handles between 50 and 80 deliveries every day.
Other county facilities, including Mbagathi and Mutuini hospitals, have also strengthened their maternal and newborn services, according to Sakaja.
The governor said continued investment in maternal and newborn healthcare is aimed at ensuring women facing pregnancy complications and babies born prematurely receive timely and specialised care.
For Sakaja, the push for better maternal and newborn services is also deeply personal, shaped by a childhood survival story that he says continues to influence his priorities as Nairobi governor.
