At Kenya’s largest referral hospital, flooded washroom floors, crumbling walls, and a lack of sanitary provisions raise serious questions about accountability, the use of its Ksh447 million maintenance budget, and a pattern of systemic neglect in a facility that should set the standard for healthcare in Kenya.
A chilling video recorded by a patient at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) Maternity Ward reveals the shocking state of the facility’s washrooms. The floor is flooded, the
walls are crumbling, and there are no sanitary bins—forcing patients to dispose of used sanitary towels in a crevice behind the wall. There are also no support bars to aid pregnant women and new mothers, despite the obvious risk of slipping on the wet floors.
Alarmingly, this is Kenya’s largest Level 6 hospital, operating on a Repair and Maintenance budget of Ksh447 million (2023). And this is just one ward—within the Maternity Unit meant to care for mothers and their newborns.
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