Nairobi Women's Hospital
| The Nairobi Women's Hospital | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Hurlingham, Nairobi, Kenya |
| Coordinates | 1°17′38″S 36°47′46″E / 1.293856°S 36.796071°E |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | NHIF |
| Type | Specialized |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes |
| Beds | 726 |
| History | |
| Opened | 2001 |
| Links | |
| Lists | Hospitals in Kenya |
The Nairobi Women's Hospital is a for-profit hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. It has 726 beds.[1]
The hospital was founded in 2001 by Dr. Sam Thenya[2] and was the first of its kind in the East and Central Africa region. Even if it specialised in Obstetrics and Gynecology services, the hospital is equipped and staffed to handle all general medical and surgical conditions.
The Gender Violence Recovery Centre (GVRC) is a charitable trust of The Nairobi Women's Hospital. It was established to provide medical treatment, and psychosocial treatment to survivors of rape and domestic violence who cannot afford treatment. GVRCs have been established throughout Kenya and are often the sole available form of treatment for victims of gender-based violence.[3]
The hospital is for-profit and private equity has been heavily involved in its management. In 2016, the Abraaj Group purchased a 75% stake in the hospital.[4] In 2016 Dr Thenya claimed that requests from politicians seeking to free patients or their bodies detained at the hospital for non-payment were his biggest problem, saying "My biggest problem, and I think this is in the public domain, is politicians calling for release of patients who have not paid their bills or release a body of a someone who has bills."[5] After the Abraaj Group collapsed in 2018, their stake was acquired by the US-based firm TPG Inc.[6]
In 2017 and 2019 the detention of patients and bodies at the hospital over unpaid bills was the subject of Kenyan television exposes.[7]
A 2023 Oxfam report detailed numerous human rights abuses at the hospital including forcibly detaining patients and withholding bodies of the deceased from their families for nonpayment of medical fees.[8] However, the report noted that no such concerns had been raised with respect to the hospital's GVRCs.[9] Following the report, allegations of extortion were also raised in local media, which the hospital denied.[10]
In 2023 TPG Inc. sold the hospital back to Dr Thenya.[7]
Legal issues
[edit]The hospital has had a number of legal cases related to the detention of patients for unpaid bills since 2014.[7]
In 2016 the hospital was ordered to pay a woman they had detained for three months over unpaid bills $9,600 by Kenya’s High Court. [7]
In 2018 a Nairobi court ordered the hospital to release a car crash victim being detained over unpaid bills.[7]
In 2021 a Kenyan court ordered the hospital to release a woman they had detained for five months.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "About Us". Nairobi Women's Hospital. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
- ^ "Dr. Sam Thenya: A Women's Health Pioneer" (PDF). Global Health and Education Learning Incubator, Harvard University. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
- ^ Nnoko-Mewanu, Juliana; Muthiani, Lydia (21 September 2021). ""I Had Nowhere to Go": Violence Against Women and Girls During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Kenya". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ Marriott, Anna (2023). "Sick Development: How rich-country government and World Bank funding to for-profit private hospitals causes harm, and why it should be stopped" (PDF). Oxfam. p. 15.
- ^ "Hospital CEO talks money, zeal, silence". archive.org. Business Daily. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Marriott 2023, p. 15.
- ^ a b c d e f DOOLEY, BEN; REDDY, MICAH. "How the World Bank Left African Hospital Patients "Detained" and in Crushing Debt". motherjones.com. Mother Jones. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ Marriott 2023, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Marriott 2023, p. 16.
- ^ Olage, Martin (27 June 2023). "Nairobi Women's Hospital Clarifies Claims of Patient Extortion, Detention". Mwakilishi.com. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
External links
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| National | |
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