Residents of Nyeri and neighbouring areas are set to benefit from improved maternal and newborn services.
This follows the handover of upgraded Mother and Child Units at Karatina Sub-County Hospital and Naromoru Health Centre to the county government.
Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Ouma Oluga, stated that the project is a National Government initiative implemented in partnership with the Government of Finland, with technical support from the VAMED Group.
The modern facilities, delivered under the Government’s Taifa Care Model and the Universal Health Coverage agenda, are designed to strengthen safe delivery services and neonatal care.
The upgrades are expected to reduce preventable maternal and infant deaths while promoting skilled, facility-based childbirth.
Beyond infrastructure development, he noted, the programme has focused on improving service quality through specialised training in obstetrics, gynaecology and neonatology.
Health workers have also received capacity building on equipment use and healthcare waste management, including observership programmes in Finland.
The Karatina Mother and Child Unit is equipped with neonatal intensive care beds, resuscitation units, modern delivery beds, sterilisation facilities, oxygen and medical air systems, water purification technology, and solar-powered boilers to ensure uninterrupted services.
At Naromoru, the upgraded facility will provide integrated antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care, supported by a newborn unit, modern examination rooms, sterilisation areas, and strengthened waste management systems.
Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga welcomed the handover, noting that Nyeri is among 20 counties benefiting from the initiative. He further highlighted that the county has achieved a 66 per cent registration rate under the Social Health Authority (SHA), reflecting growing readiness among residents to access quality and affordable healthcare.
The milestone reflects sustained collaboration between the national and county governments to expand maternal and newborn care infrastructure, a critical pillar in delivering equitable health services under Universal Health Coverage.
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