Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja officially launched the Mama Lucy Kibaki Eye Hospital at Umoja Two Annexe in Nairobi on Monday.
Sakaja said that this would be a game changer when it comes to eye health since most of the eye hospitals within the country and the whole of East and Central Africa are privately owned by non-governmental organizations which are expensive when it comes to eye medicine and treatment.
The governor urged the people to encourage their relatives and friends who have eye problems to come and get affordable eye treatment at the newly launched hospital.
Sakaja highlighted that the hospital has a 28-bed capacity for admissions, double theatre for surgeries, and qualified staff.
Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital Director Benard Gituma announced that the hospital is now able to perform eye surgeries through its surgeons who are well-experienced and trained.
Gituma said that the youngest individual to undergo eye surgery was a four-year-old child while the eldest was an eighty-nine-year-old lady.
Equally, Sakaja added that the government tends to lower the rate at which people experiencing eye problems travel outside the country for surgeries in the course incurring high costs.
Sakaja said that the hospital will be fully equipped with all the necessary technologies and facilities such as the materials needed for eye surgery and the technology needed for the manufacturing of spectacle lenses, adding that he has purchased 1,000 spectacles for the hospital to be given to all those experiencing visual problems.
Sakaja recognized the newly launched hospital as being the first public eye hospital to be opened among other 19 similar hospital projects in Nairobi that had started but were left pending due to some financial hardships.
He promised that in his government, he will ensure that all of the other projects are complete and fully equipped as per the expectations of Nairobi residents.
“A hospital is not just a building, but a hospital is all about its services, its doctors and nurses, and citizens who can be treated in that hospital at an affordable price,” Sakaja as he asked all health workers to perform their duties for the satisfaction of the Kenyan citizens.
Sakaja lauded the youth who decided to join his Green Army project which aims to employ the youth within the county.
“For the first time, many places that are normally flooded as a result of heavy rain such as South C and Westlands, their drainage systems are now running smoothly courtesy of the Green Army,” Sakaja added.
By Juma Nalami and Cynthia Cherotich
