A Look Inside: How is Kijabe Hospital in Kenya Preparing for COVID-19?

By Scott Marcello, President, African Mission Healthcare 

Our relationship with AIC Kijabe Mission Hospital began in 2002 when Dr. Jon Fielder, AMH Co-Founder and Chief Executive, joined Kijabe as a medical missionary. While there, Jon expanded both care and training relating to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. 

Since then, AMH has supported many critical projects at Kijabe:

Thanks to the efforts of many Kenyan and missionary health professionals and the support of faithful donors like you, Kijabe is now a strong teaching hospital offering a wide range of life-saving services.

All of these investments have helped to prepare Kijabe Hospital for such a time as this –Hospital leaders have done an outstanding job in preparing to treat patients suffering with COVID-19. 

In fact, we believe that Kijabe is among the hospitals best prepared to care for COVID patients in Kenya and in the other countries across sub-Saharan Africa. The hospital has set aside a 50-bed wing to accommodate COVID patients, has rerouted oxygen, established infection control and treatment procedures, and has readied a special four-bed intensive care unit (ICU). Dr. Fielder helped establish Kijabe’s first ICU in 2005. 

But Will It Be Enough? 

Although African countries locked down early and have seen relatively few cases so far, we are heeding public health experts warning of a prolonged threat to Africa from the coronavirus. Of course, we can’t predict whether the continent will experience the same explosion in COVID cases as elsewhere. We are closely monitoring the reported cases of the virus and are in daily contact with our partners.

What we do know is: 

• If cases of COVID do expand exponentially, there likely will be substantial shortages of critical supplies and equipment such as PPE (personal protective equipment) for health workers, oxygen, ventilators, and critical medicines.  
• Even if the rate of COVID infection in Africa remains lower than in the West, there will be severe cash flow challenges as hospitals that traditionally serve the poor and disadvantaged invest in preparations and lose revenue. Non-emergency operations have been suspended. Patients are avoiding hospitals due to fear of COVID.  

The capacity of health systems across Africa is only a small fraction of similar capacity in the Western world. Their resources and reserves are much lower. We need each hospital to survive and thrive for the current crisis and the next. 

While Kijabe and our other mission hospital partners are working hard to prepare and solve many of these problems, they need your help.

What Can You Do? 

• Support our AMH COVID Response Fund. AMH will use available funds to help our mission hospitals battle COVID and in their recovery after the pandemic subsides. 
• Join us in lifting Africa, its leaders, its health workers, and its people up in prayer. 
• Continue your ongoing support for AMH and our critical programs. We’re facing a global crisis today and investing in the long-term future of Africa by building quality medical institutions and training health workers. These efforts will save lives today AND prepare the continent for whatever crisis is next.  

Thank you for your compassionate support and continued prayers for our hospital teams and their patients during this time. We’re grateful to be partners in ministry with you.