One woman's near-death story exposes Kenya's medical infrastructure crisis

For two months, the world of 19-year-old Gloria Lenasalia shrank to the relentless pounding of a headache. It began in mid-November as a dull ache that paracetamol could not touch. As December slipped into January, the pain intensified, alarming both her and her family.

At Wamba Sub-County Hospital in Samburu, doctors administered Tramadol in an attempt to ease the throbbing. Still, the headaches persisted. Each day, the pain worsened. Lenasalia grew weaker and began vomiting.

“The pain held me hostage at my mother’s compound. Most days I could do little more than clutch my head and cry,” she says.

A few days after the New Year, she collapsed and fainted. Her family rushed her to Maralal County Referral Hospital by ambulance.

After receiving first aid, doctors admitted her and recommended a CT scan to determine what was happening inside her brain. But the machines meant to save her were silent.

One CT scanner, installed in 2018, had been decommissioned after a breakdown due to a lapsed servicing contract. A second, newer scanner that had been operational since September had also broken down just a week earlier.

“I was told to go back to the ward and wait as they tried to fix the machine,” Lenasalia recalls. “Two days later, it was still not working. They would call me and push me in a wheelchair to the room, but I always left without having the scan.”

The breakdown left her in limbo: wait indefinitely for the machines to be repaired, or travel hundreds of kilometres in search of a working scanner. Her parents eventually made the difficult decision to transfer her to Pope Benedict XVI Hospital in Nyahururu, where she could access an MRI scan. The results confirmed she had meningitis affecting her brain.

“I had to pay Sh8,000 for the ambulance and the scan itself; extra costs we had not planned for. We then had to travel back to Maralal to begin treatment,” she says.

Reflecting on Lenasalia's arrival, Allan Masai, the radiographer at the Maralal hospital, notes that her case was critical.

“It is just by grace that she is even alive to tell her story, especially considering she arrived completely unconscious and in great pain. We could have lost her that day.”

The breakdown left a backlog of approximately 30 patients per week in limbo. According to Masai, many incurred heavy costs hiring private ambulances or traveling over 200 kilometres to find functional equipment.

"Many outpatients were forced to find accommodation in town, waiting in the homes of friends or relatives, unsure when the machines would be fixed. While spare parts reportedly sat in Mombasa awaiting clearance, the hospital remained at a standstill. Fortunately, we have recorded no deaths," Masai explains.

A source close to the contractor revealed that the damaged scanner component cost Sh13 million and had to be imported from an international manufacturer. 
The AI-powered scanner, valued at Sh130 million, was manufactured in 2025 and installed at the facility toward the end of the year.

For Lenasalia, the intervention came just in time. Her survival is a success story in a system where many others continue to wait for life-saving diagnostics.

A new model for medical equipment

Under the National Equipment Service Program (NESP), modern diagnostic technology is being deployed across underserved counties, including Samburu, West Pokot, Marsabit, Isiolo, Mandera, Garissa, Lamu, and Wajir.

NESP is a Ministry of Health initiative launched around August 2025 to modernise public hospital equipment through a sustainable Fee-for-Service (FFS) model. It followed the expiration of the Managed Equipment Services (MES) scheme in December 2023. The MES scheme, a seven-year leasing program initiated around 2015, was criticised for lacking transparency, requiring high upfront payments, and frequent equipment downtime.

The FFS model shifts the financial burden to vendors, who provide, install, and maintain medical equipment with no upfront costs to counties. The government reimburses vendors based on agreed service tariffs, allowing counties to focus resources on patient care while vendors manage the equipment. Revenue generated from services can be reinvested into local healthcare systems, strengthening long-term sustainability.

The model guarantees 95 per cent equipment uptime, facilitates timely replacements, and includes continuous training for healthcare workers on the latest technologies.

Sirat Amin, CEO of Sunview Medipro International, explains that for decades, life-saving diagnoses in rural Kenya often depended on distance, luck, and cost. Patients with suspected stroke, trauma, or serious illness frequently travelled hours, sometimes over 200 kilometres, to access a CT scan or advanced lab tests. Many never made it in time. But that reality, he says, is beginning to change.

"We deployed AI-powered CT scanners in 32 counties, installed more than 3,400 modern laboratory machines in 75 hospitals, and began rolling out 40 fully equipped operating theaters nationwide. This combination of imaging, laboratory, and surgical upgrades is reshaping healthcare delivery in regions that historically lacked advanced medical services," he explains.

Advances in artificial intelligence are now transforming medical imaging, making scans faster, clearer, and safer. The new 128-slice AI-driven CT scanners produce sharper images, complete scans more quickly, and include intelligent detection systems that help clinicians diagnose strokes, trauma injuries, and chest complications earlier.

According to Yussuf Daud, director of Medical Imaging at Sunview Medipro International, AI has significantly improved the accuracy and safety of modern CT scanners.

"AI helps us get clearer images faster while exposing patients to lower radiation doses. This allows doctors to diagnose patients more accurately and safely. The technology can reconstruct images faster, reducing scan time and allowing for quicker results.

"Faster turnaround times mean more patients, more scans, less waiting, fewer repeats, and better equipment utilisation. AI can also highlight abnormalities and help radiologists make confident decisions. However, it does not replace doctors," he adds.

AI in cancer care

Artificial intelligence is also reshaping cancer diagnosis and treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

Dr Catherine Nyongesa, director of Medical Services at KNH and a clinical radiation oncologist, says AI and digital technology are increasingly transforming cancer care and improving patient experiences at the country's largest referral hospital.

She notes that the hospital is exploring how to integrate AI across the entire healthcare system, not just in cancer diagnosis.

"We are focusing on how technology that is evolving every day can improve the patient experience. As a hospital, we have a team looking at how we can embrace AI not only in breast cancer care but across the whole healthcare ecosystem.”

One key area of focus is the use of data systems and digital dashboards to improve decision-making, patient engagement, and hospital workflows.

"We are looking at how AI can help us generate quality data and dashboards that support decision-making while also improving patient engagement and workflows," she explains.

The hospital has also begun reviewing its internal processes to reduce the many steps patients must navigate before receiving care.

"We have been doing what we call business process re-engineering, and we realised that cancer patients, and even other patients, sometimes go through more than 40 steps before they receive care. We are asking ourselves how technology can help us reduce those steps and improve the overall patient experience.”

"For many years, the hospital has relied on manual systems with a lot of paperwork. When files move physically from one office to another, it creates delays. But with digitisation, once information is entered into the system, the next department can immediately access it without waiting for the physical 
file," says Dr Nyongesa.

Artificial intelligence is also being introduced into clinical decision-making, particularly in cancer treatment planning.

"Traditionally, oncologists must manually examine medical scans and outline the areas requiring treatment in a process known as contouring, a step that can take considerable time. Once a patient is scanned, the images are sent to a planning station where a doctor has to manually contour the tumour and surrounding areas. This process takes time because the doctor must physically sit at the workstation to do it," she explains.

Machine learning is now helping to automate that process. With AI-powered auto-contouring, once a scan is completed and images are transmitted through the PAC system, the software can automatically outline the areas requiring treatment. The clinician then reviews the contours; from a computer or even a mobile device, and, if satisfied, approves them so treatment planning can proceed.

Dr Nyongesa notes that the innovation could significantly reduce waiting times.

"In the past, patients might wait up to four weeks before starting treatment after being scanned. With this technology, we hope to reduce that to just a matter of days.”

Robotics and digital systems

KNH is also exploring robotics and AI-supported administrative systems.

"We are looking at how robotics could help improve patient flow. For example, a patient could interact with a digital system to input their information instead of going through several manual steps," she says.

Dr Nyongesa adds that the adoption of AI and digital technologies is particularly important in the fight against breast cancer, one of the most common cancers affecting women.

"Breast cancer is currently one of the leading cancers among women. We want to use technology from early diagnosis to timely treatment and follow-up so that we can achieve better outcomes. The hospital has recently rolled out a new mammography machine under the National Equipment Service Programme to improve breast cancer screening."

KNH is partnering with the University of Michigan to introduce AI-powered auto-contouring software at its oncology centre.

"The software has already been donated, and the centre has been set up on the first floor of the cancer centre. We are now waiting for modern equipment that will support this system, which we expect to receive soon," she says.

Beyond treatment, the hospital is using digital tools to improve patient follow-up and reduce missed appointments.

"With AI and digitisation, we can track patients who miss their clinic visits. If the system shows that certain patients did not come for their appointments, it automatically raises an alert so clinicians can follow up with them."

KNH has also introduced a patient navigation programme to guide cancer patients through their treatment journey.

"Patient navigators meet patients at different stages—from their first visit, before treatment, and during follow-up. Their role is to understand each patient's unique needs and support them throughout the treatment process. If a patient misses an appointment, a navigator will call them to understand the problem and help address it," she explained.

Dr Nyongesa says the goal of these innovations is ultimately to ensure that every cancer patient receives timely and personalised care.

"We are reminded that every patient has unique needs. Technology will help us reach those needs faster and provide better care."

[email protected]