Italy is actively involved in improving healthcare in Malindi, one of Governor Gideon Mung'aro's top priorities for his county.
Yesterday, the foundation stone was laid for a new and modern maternity ward at the Malindi Sub-District Hospital, the health hub not only of the township, but of a good half of Kilifi County and for over 1 million Kenyan citizens. The initiative has been funded by our government, through Italian cooperation, and will be implemented by the civil society organisation World Friends in collaboration with the Global Health Centre of the Tuscany region.
‘The Malindi Sub-County Hospital is one of the main referral hospitals for the management of high-risk pregnancies and complex deliveries, yet at the moment the infrastructure is not adequate to guarantee safe care. The new maternity ward, which will be operational in early 2025, will include a modern delivery room, a dedicated operating theatre and a neonatal area, allowing for quality care for both mothers and newborns,’ the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Nairobi said.
Present at the event were members of the Kenyan parliament and the Vicar of the Italian ambassador to Kenya, Lorenza Gambacorta, the governor of Kilifi, the owner of the Nairobi office of AICS, Giovanni Grandi, and a representation of Italian non-profit organisations in Kenya, led by the head of World Friends, Gianfranco Morino.
Lorenza Gambacorta pointed out that the construction of the maternity ward in Malindi is a further example of Italian commitment in the health sector, aimed at supporting Kenya's progress towards universal health coverage. ‘The same hospital,’ the Vicar continued, “will be the subject of a further intervention that includes the construction and equipping of an intensive care unit”.
Grandi stressed that this is ‘a significant step towards a future in which every mother and newborn child can receive safe care’.

(Photo credits: AICS)