Six counties in the Nyanza and Western regions are set to benefit from improved newborn care following the handover of neonatal incubators under the Okoa Malaika programme.
The equipment, donated by Ushiriki Wema Foundation, is intended to support premature and critically ill babies, addressing gaps in facilities where health workers may lack the equipment needed to save newborn lives.
Speaking during the Phase Nine handover at Lumumba Sub-County Hospital in Kisumu, foundation chairperson Tessie Musalia said the incubators represented more than medical equipment, offering vulnerable newborns a better chance of survival.
She called on beneficiary counties and hospitals to ensure the equipment was properly installed, maintained and supported by trained health workers, warning that its impact depended on whether it remained functional and readily available when needed.
The latest phase targets Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, Kisii, Nyamira and Migori counties, extending support to facilities serving mothers and newborns across the region.
Kisumu First Lady Dorothy Nyong’o welcomed the intervention, noting that referral hospitals serve families beyond county boundaries, including patients from neighbouring counties and across the borders with Uganda and Tanzania.
She said strengthening newborn services at the facility would therefore benefit families far beyond Kisumu, while urging health teams to use the donated equipment effectively and sustain improvements through training and mentorship.
The handover comes as Kenya pursues its Every Woman, Every Newborn, Everywhere acceleration plan, which seeks to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
For families whose babies arrive too soon or require specialised care, access to functioning equipment and skilled health workers can make the difference between life and death.
