Meru — Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital, in collaboration with global health charities Smile Train and Kids Operating Room (KidsOR), is proud to announce the opening of a new paediatric theatre which will provide specialized surgical care to children in the region.
With an estimated 1.2 million children in Kenya living with treatable disabilities, the new facility will help address the shortage of paediatric surgical services in the region and improve access to care for children who need it most.
Speaking at the opening ceremony today, Meru County Chief Health Officer Dr. Joseph Wahome thanked the two charities while stating the importance of making the facility a centre of excellence in paediatric surgery. "This project that entails construction and equipping a paediatric theatre came after a fruitful discussion between our partners and the hospital. This was necessitated by the need to make the facility a centre of excellence in paediatric surgery and in rehabilitative surgery to treat cleft lip and palate.
Adding: "With the completion of this project the hospital's status as a regional referral hospital has been enhanced and the turnaround time for patients has greatly improved, reducing the backlog of surgical conditions. As a teaching hospital, the new theatre has enhanced our capacity for the learning experience".
On her part, Senior Vice President, Global Medical Programs at Smile Train Dr. Esther Njoroge-Muriithi said, "This paediatric theater will serve many generations to come, it is a win for the region and our partnership. Most importantly, this is a win for the children who will be able to get timely and effective access to the surgical care they need and deserve to thrive and live happy healthy lives."
KidsOR Africa Director Rosemary Mugwe added, "The opening of the new paediatric theatre is a significant milestone in our efforts to improve children surgery. Investing in paediatric surgery provision is a smart investment that boosts economic growth and development for any county. We are delighted to have partnered with Smile Train to see the successful delivery of this project."
The new paediatric theatre is equipped with approximately 3,000 pieces of state-of-the-art equipment. The facility will provide a safe and child-friendly environment for children to receive surgical care, improving their chances of successful treatment and recovery.
Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that over 85 percent of the world's children requiring surgery live in low- and middle-income countries like Kenya. However, access to surgical care is often limited in these countries, with only six percent of surgical procedures worldwide being performed in sub-Saharan Africa. This means that many children in the region go without the surgical care they need, leading to lifelong disabilities or even death.
Smile Train and KidsOR came together in 2020 to provide more than 30 paediatric operating rooms across countries in Africa by 2025. The charities have so far installed 17 life-transforming paediatric theatres in 10 countries, with a vision of treating more than 12,000 children over the next five years.
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The long-term collaboration between Smile Train and Kids Operating Room continues to innovate and invest in strengthening surgical and anaesthesia care to reach patients in need throughout Africa. The Smile Train-KidsOR partnership is also supporting a pediatric surgery scholarship for the training and education of 45 paediatric surgeons across Africa in partnership with the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) and the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA).
Further, to tackle the dual challenge of unsustainable power supply to theatres in Africa while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Smile Train and KidsOR will begin implementing stand-alone solar battery support systems in pediatric operating rooms in Africa in 2023, with the first pilot hospitals currently being equipped with solar panels.
