Thousands of critically ill children and burn victims will have to wait longer for treatment at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) after the government slashed funding for the completion of the Burns Management Centre and Paediatric Emergency Centre by Sh900 million in the financial year starting July.
In the budget presented to Parliament, the Treasury allocated Sh1.2 billion for the project, down from Sh2.1 billion in the current year.
Construction of the centre, which began more than five years ago, was originally scheduled for completion in 2018 but was later revised to 2023.
It will be a highly specialised 214-bed facility dedicated to treating severe burns and providing advanced paediatric care. When complete, the burns centre will have 82 general ward beds, 14 intensive care beds and six high dependency beds.
The paediatric centre will have 82 general ward beds, 24 intensive care beds and six high dependency beds.
The project was designed to ease pressure on KNH’s existing infrastructure, overwhelmed by increasing demand from across the country and the region. It also aimed to reduce the need for costly overseas referrals and lengthy waiting times at overstretched public hospitals.
The paediatric department at KNH currently cares for children aged 0 to 12, receives an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 children annually, and serves the emergency, inpatient and outpatient departments.
However, the funding cut raises fresh concerns about the future of the flagship project under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda, which aims to expand access to specialist care for critically ill children and burn victims.
In her audit report for the financial year ending June 2024, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu highlighted the stalled construction of the centre and poor contract management. She warned that the prolonged delays had resulted in avoidable interest charges that could have been used to procure essential medical equipment, hire doctors or improve other health services.
“This was contrary to Section 151 (2) (c) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act 2015, which requires a procuring entity to meet all its payment and other obligations on time and in accordance with the contract.
In the circumstances, the expenditure of Sh34,047,734 for the construction of the Paediatric Emergency Centre and Burns Management Centre could not be certified as value for money,” said Ms Gathungu.
