NMS gets Sh400m to upgrade clinics

Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has received Sh400 million for the rehabilitation of existing dilapidated health centres in the county.

The refurbishment work will focus on the county’s 104 centres in a bid to enhance access to health services at ward level across the 17 sub-counties.

The upgrade will see the centres acquire more medical equipment to improve their efficiency in service delivery as well as uplift their capacity to handle more patients.

Nairobi finance and economic planning executive Allan Igambi said the allocation is part of an additional Sh500 million advanced to NMS in the health sector.

“We have increased the budget for NMS by Sh500 million where Sh400 million will go towards rehabilitation of existing county health centres and another Sh100 million for rolling out of payment of stipends to Nairobi’s community health volunteers,” said Mr Igambi.

He said a majority of the 104 community health centres are in a dilapidated state and the allocation will serve as a timely shot in the arm.

The health facilities have been supplementing provision of health services to residents in informal settlements.

Mr Igambi said work at some of the health centres earmarked for renovation had begun even before the funds had been allocated.

Nairobi County Assembly budget and finance committee chairperson Robert Mbatia said NMS had received a similar allocation under the Executive Office of the President but did not utilise the money due to time constraints.

Subsequently, the committee saw it fit to allocate the same amount from the county executive to go towards the rolled over project.

“Actually there is work that had started and contractors are on site but the money had been allocated in the previous budget under the Presidency and since it is a roll-over, it was not factored again so we thought of having it in the county government,” said Mr Mbatia.

He said the renovation of the health centres, where most are not in good condition, is also aimed at equipping them to make sure that the health centres are in good shape in case of any surge in Covid-19 cases in the capital.

“We need good facilities in place that are well equipped such that in case of any eventuality like the Covid-19 one, then we can be able to address it even at the very low level,” he said.

In the long term, City Hall is looking into various options to ensure that at least each of the top health centres in the 17 sub-Counties have ambulances, enough medical personnel as well as incorporating community health volunteers into the sector.

Over the past months, county hospitals have recorded an influx of patients, an improvement that has been attributed to heavy investment in construction and equipping of new 24 hospitals by the NMS.