Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has announced the start of a housing initiative aimed at improving the welfare of its workforce.
In a statement on Saturday, February 14, KNH described the move as a foundational step toward ensuring medical professionals are better positioned to serve patients.
KNH noted that the project has been enabled through collaboration with government institutions responsible for housing and urban development.
"KNH has begun the journey toward providing affordable housing for its staff, in a landmark initiative aimed at strengthening healthcare service delivery.
"The project has been made possible through the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, under the State Department for Housing and Urban Development," the statement read.
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According to KNH, the primary goal of the housing project is to ensure that essential healthcare workers live within easy reach of the hospital.
This proximity, according to the hospital, is expected to reduce response times and improve readiness during critical medical situations.
"The housing initiative is designed to ensure that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers reside within close proximity to the hospital. This will enable medical personnel to respond within a short time to attend to patients’ needs, particularly during emergencies and critical situations," the statement added.
KNH said once completed, the housing development is expected to house a significant number of staff members.
This comes days after KNH performed Kenya’s first orbital-facial prosthesis procedure in a public hospital.
In a statement on Friday, February 13, the hospital said the procedure was completed in January 2026, making the hospital the first public facility in Kenya to deliver the highly specialised reconstruction surgery.
KNH detailed that the procedure was performed on 65-year-old John Munyiri, a farmer from Laikipia County, who had been battling a rare and aggressive sinus cancer.
"For 65-year-old Mr. John Munyiri, a farmer from Laikipia County, what began as a stubborn blockage in his left nostril slowly turned into a life-altering ordeal. Months later, his eye became swollen and watery, and daily life farming, sleeping, even speaking grew increasingly difficult.
"A biopsy confirmed the devastating diagnosis: maxillary carcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the sinus. In June 2022, he was referred to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), where he underwent 25 sessions of radiotherapy in a determined fight to stop the disease from spreading," the statement read.
The hospital explained that although radiotherapy was administered, the disease advanced and required radical surgery to save his life.
"Despite treatment, the cancer required radical surgery in June 2023. Doctors removed his left eye, part of his nose, and sections of his upper jaw to save his life. When he woke up, he was cancer-free but physically transformed.
"The victory over cancer came with a heavy emotional cost. Looking in the mirror was painful. Walking with an eye patch drew stares. For a man deeply rooted in community life, the visible changes quietly eroded his confidence," the statement added.
Following the life-saving operation, KNH said its specialists embarked on a structured rehabilitation plan to restore the patient’s speech and feeding functions through prosthetic intervention.
"His journey did not end in the operating theatre. At the KNH Dental Unit, the Maxillofacial and Prosthodontics teams focused on restoring both his function and dignity. Once healed, he was fitted with a customized maxillary obturator to close the gap between his mouth and nasal cavity, enabling him to speak clearly and eat properly again.
"Dentures followed, and with continued speech therapy and prosthetic support, he gradually regained essential daily functions many people take for granted," the statement further read.
KNH further noted that beyond physical recovery, the emotional impact of losing part of his face remained significant, prompting the team to pursue a permanent facial restoration solution.
"Despite his physical recovery, he still felt emotionally incomplete, with the eye patch serving for nearly four years as a painful reminder of his loss.
"In June 2025, recognizing both the complexity of his condition and its emotional impact, the multidisciplinary team stepped in once more to restore his appearance, designing and crafting a three-piece, magnet-retained orbital–facial prosthesis at KNH for improved stability and comfort," the statement concluded.
