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Lucy Wahome stumbles and struggles to maintain her balance and walk as a nurse rushes to lend her support, soon after she got admitted at the clinic. Wahome, 30, initially sought medical treatment at her home clinic in Kiambu County, Kenya, which seemed well organised; but she later realised that constant power outages at the facility seriously compromised the quality of care at the clinic.
“I discovered that I had fibroids two years ago and decided to take some herbal medication, thinking they would disappear. However, my condition worsened, and then I got admitted at our local medical facility for a surgery. But the facility could not schedule one due to constant electricity shutdown,” Wahome told ChinAfrica.
Prolonged power blackouts have paralysed vital installations, including the equipment at various hospitals. The power outages have been attributed to factors including an aging transmission network, staffing challenges at the state-owned power utility - Kenya Power, extreme weather events and vandalism, among others.
On the brink of death, Wahome was referred to the Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya’s largest referral hospital, located in the north of capital Nairobi.
“Had it not been for this medical facility’s initiative to invest in a power gadget to help provide uninterrupted electricity which enables surgeons to do their surgery nonstop, I would have been dead by now. Today, despite a painful operation, I am on a road to recovery,” Wahome stated.
Life-saving investment
As of 2022, the hospital has over 1,800 beds, more than 6,000 staff, 50 wards, 22 outpatient clinics, 24 operation theatres (16 specialised) and an accident and emergency department, according to Kenya’s Ministry of Health.
The massive health facility previously relied on outdated and unreliable gasoline-powered electricity generation equipment to supply power. Power outages