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ADVERThttps://youtu.be/Sny2O4mVqxU?feature=sharedGovernor Orengo’s Nyalore administration deepens healthcare investment through strategic partnerships, with more than KSh198 million committed to health, education and economic empowerment projects across the county.
Siaya County’s healthcare infrastructure has received a significant boost following the official handover of the newly completed Nyenye-Misori Dispensary outpatient block by the Safaricom M-PESA Foundation to the County Government of Siaya.
The facility, handed over to Governor James Orengo’s administration by the Foundation, represented by its Independent Non-Executive Director, Mr Edward Okaro, marks another milestone in the county’s efforts to expand access to quality and affordable healthcare, particularly for rural and underserved communities.
The handover was accompanied by a free medical camp that offered outpatient consultations and other essential health services to residents, courtesy of Zuri Health and Rapogi Primary.
The modern Level Two healthcare facility has been designed to provide comprehensive primary healthcare services in a dignified and accessible environment. Its infrastructure incorporates disability-friendly features, including wheelchair accessibility, ramps and accessible entrances, alongside ample parking facilities.
ADVERTOther key amenities include maternal and child healthcare services, immunisation, accident and emergency casualty services, family planning and comprehensive HIV prevention, care and treatment facilities.
The investment underscores the growing importance of strategic partnerships between county governments and private-sector foundations in strengthening healthcare delivery and bringing essential medical services closer to communities.
M-PESA Foundation’s Expanding Healthcare Partnership
The Nyenye-Misori project is part of a broader collaboration between the Siaya County Government and Safaricom M-PESA Foundation, whose interventions extend beyond individual health facilities to wider community development programmes.
Among the flagship projects is the KSh52 million Tingare Maternity Unit, a major healthcare investment designed to strengthen maternal and newborn care.
The facility comprises a 14-bed postnatal ward, a six-bed labour ward and a three-bed delivery ward. It also features a nine-bed newborn unit, a kangaroo care room and modern nursing stations to support specialised care for mothers and newborns.
The kangaroo care facility is particularly important in promoting skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding for newborns requiring specialised attention.
The maternity unit also incorporates consultation rooms, reception facilities and a pharmacy, providing an integrated environment for maternal healthcare services.
The project fulfils a commitment made by Governor Orengo during its groundbreaking in early 2025.
Other collaborative interventions include the groundbreaking of a maternal healthcare unit at Nyang’u Dispensary in West Ugenya in December last year. The initiative was accompanied by community outreach programmes and a corporate social responsibility medical camp that benefited more than 3,000 residents with free medical services.
KSh198 Million Investment Transforming Communities
According to the county administration, the partnership between the Nyalore administration and Safaricom M-PESA Foundation has supported investments worth approximately KSh198 million in education, healthcare and economic empowerment programmes across Siaya County.
The interventions are estimated to benefit more than 200,000 people within Siaya and neighbouring communities, particularly vulnerable populations that depend on accessible public healthcare facilities.
The investments reflect an ambitious approach to addressing persistent healthcare challenges, reducing barriers to essential medical services and strengthening the capacity of rural facilities to respond to the county’s disease burden.
Siaya’s Wider Healthcare Infrastructure Transformation
Beyond its partnership with the M-PESA Foundation, the Orengo administration is pursuing an extensive healthcare infrastructure modernisation programme targeting major hospitals and rural health centres.
At Siaya County Referral Hospital, Phase Two of the expansion programme is undergoing major infrastructure upgrades as part of a wider KSh1.2 billion investment involving the county and national governments.
The planned modernisation is expected to increase the hospital’s capacity and improve the delivery of specialised outpatient and inpatient services. The expansion includes a 250-bed component, while plans for a larger 500-bed mother-and-child complex incorporate emergency, dialysis and surgical services.
The Urenga Health Centre in East Ugenya is also nearing completion of a KSh50 million two-storey inpatient and diagnostics complex. The facility features plans for a theatre, X-ray and ultrasound services, alongside inpatient wards.
In East Ugenya, Bar Ndege is another beneficiary of the county’s infrastructure programme, with a two-storey development incorporating inpatient facilities, an administration complex, isolation units, a minor theatre and diagnostic services.
Ukwala Sub-County Hospital in Ugenya is also undergoing expansion through an annex featuring a 50-bed maternity wing, operating theatre, radiology, X-ray and eye-care services.
At Yala Sub-County Hospital, modern healthcare infrastructure, including a theatre, maternity wing and casualty unit, is expected to strengthen service delivery to residents in the surrounding communities and neighbouring parts of Western Kenya. More than 50,000 people are expected to benefit from improved access to healthcare services.
Partnerships Against Disease Burden
The county government is also strengthening collaborations with development and healthcare partners, including Amref Health Africa and TANGO Doctors, in interventions targeting malaria, waterborne diseases and other public health challenges.
These partnerships complement infrastructure investments by supporting preventive healthcare, community outreach and improved access to essential medical services.
The broader strategy reflects the administration’s recognition that healthcare transformation requires more than constructing modern buildings. It also demands adequately equipped facilities, skilled personnel, reliable medical supplies and effective partnerships that place communities at the centre of service delivery.
Senior County Officials Attend Handover
Governor Orengo was accompanied during the Nyenye-Misori handover by several senior county government officials, including Acting County Secretary Elizabeth Adongo; Acting County Executive Committee Member for Health, Eng. Erick Odawa; Finance and Economic Planning CECM CPA Dan Okoth; Sports and Tourism CECM Dr Nicholas Kut Kochogo; Governance, Administration and ICT CECM Rading Omollo; Public Works CECM Neto Adhola; and Trade CECM Christine Oyuu.
Other officials present included Chief Officer for Health Services Dr Omondi Owino, Chief Officer for ICT and Public Sector Maurine Awuor, Judith Okoth, Chief Officer for Sports and Tourism, and Acting County Public Service Board CEO Wilfred Ouma Nyagudi, among other county government officers.
The commissioning and handover of Nyenye-Misori Dispensary’s outpatient block represents another tangible addition to Siaya’s public healthcare infrastructure.
For residents of the surrounding communities, the significance of the investment will ultimately be measured not by the size of the building but by the quality, affordability and reliability of the medical services delivered within it.
As the Nyalore administration deepens its infrastructure programme and expands partnerships with private-sector and development organisations, the challenge ahead will be to ensure that these investments translate into improved health outcomes and sustainable access to quality healthcare for every resident of Siaya County.
