President William Ruto has pledged to ensure the stalled children hospital and paediatric cancer wing at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Research and Referral Hospital is completed.
The government will also help the hospital to construct a women hospital with a breast cancer centre.
Speaking when he commissioned a Cyberknife at the facility on Monday, Ruto further pledged to ensure counties collaborate with the national government to mobilise resources to modernise health facilities in all the 47 counties.
The President said the government is keen to develop a network of specialised public referral institutions providing advanced care that is driven by scientific research and technological innovation.
“The government intends to sustain its investments and support for highly advanced diagnostic and treatment equipment to actualise the highest standard of treatment and care for all people,” he said.
He further noted that the CyberKnife technology unveiled at the hospital propels Kenya to the frontiers of advanced medical technologies and catalyses the country’s strategy to emerge as an advanced regional and international medical hub.
“Its location in a public hospital sends a strong signal to all Kenyans that it is no longer necessary to travel far away for advanced treatments that are now available, accessible and affordable,” he said.
“Kenyans who are already covered under NHIF can receive radiation therapy without paying any top ups,” Ruto added.
The President commissioned the cyberknife, the latest technology in treatment of cancer, making Kenya the second country on the continent to have the equipment after Egypt.
The machine, which arrived in the country in October last year, has been undergoing installation by a team of experts and is being housed at the Kenyatta University referral hospital.
Cyberknife, the latest technology that conducts non-invasive treatment for cancerous and non-cancerous tumours, uses advanced technology to track tumours anywhere in the body with treatments conducted in one to five sessions.
It is globally acclaimed as the best treatment for brain tumours, lung tumours, prostate cancer tumours, meningiomas, and vascular malfunctions among others.
