Impressions of Makueni

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The Makueni County Referral Hospital was built in the 1970s. Since the cancer clinic opened in October 2020, it has had more than 800 patients, providing treatment to more than 300. Trent Kamau

In 2016, the County Government of Makueni, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, launched Makueni Care, a novel health financing programme whereby families pay an annual fee of around $10 to receive free access to basic healthcare services in the county. Jessica Davis Plüss /swissinfo.ch

Agriculture is the main economic activity in the county but low rainfall means that many people are increasingly relying on purchased food items. Jessica Davis Plüss /swissinfo.ch

Safaricom, the largest telecommunications provider in Kenya, developed the M-Pesa mobile money system that is widely used in east Africa to pay for everything from food to healthcare. Jessica Davis Plüss /swissinfo.ch

The International Cancer Institute in Eldoret has partnered with counties like Makueni to provide cancer care closer to people's homes. Open Street Map Contributors

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Prior to 2020, there was no cancer treatment available in Makueni county, which has a population of nearly 1 million. Cancer patients had to travel more than 3 hours to Nairobi and often wait for months to get an appointment.

The Makueni County Referral Hospital was built in the 1970s with a focus on infectious diseases. Cancer wasn’t a discussion at that time. The idea  of offering cancer treatment was mooted by the First Ladies Association, which includes the wives of county governors. Nazi Mwambura Kivutha, who was the first lady of Makueni County and the association chairperson in 2020, played a key role in driving forward the creation of the cancer centre.

Swiss pharma firm Roche is one of several partners at the cancer clinic in Makueni county.