Pan-African Business conglomerate Amsons Group has, in a landmark corporate grant to the Government of Kenya, committed to establishing 10 Mother-and-Child hospitals in Kenya.
This will be done within the next three years to alleviate the plight of more than 1 million underserved women.
In the largest-ever private-sector-financed boost to prevent maternal deaths, Amsons Group will fully finance the construction and equipping of the ten facilities to the tune of Sh4.5 billion (US$ 35 million), under a Build, Equip, and Transfer (BoT) model.
The level 4 medical facilities, fully funded by Amsons Group through a grant to the Government of Kenya, will be constructed over three fiscal years: 2026/2027, 2027/2028, and 2028/2029.
Speaking at the State House, Nairobi, during the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) between the Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Health, and Amsons Group, President William Ruto welcomed the corporate social investment initiative, dubbed the Amsons Mama na Mtoto Kwanza project.
While describing the firm’s philanthropic support in advancing Kenya’s maternal health goals as a timely major national milestone, flanked by Amsons Group CEO Edha Nahdi and Ministry of Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, President Ruto said reducing maternal and newborn deaths is a national priority.
Available statistics indicate that in Kenya, 5,000 children and 3,600 mothers die at delivery, with 26 counties currently identified as high-burden maternal death counties.
He confirmed that over the last three years, Kenya has undertaken the most ambitious health system transformation since independence.
The support by Amsons Group, Ruto noted, will help deepen ongoing health infrastructure expansion under the national Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) project.
The Government, through the Ministry of Health, he said, intends to implement the HSS Project, which intends to increase the number of adequately equipped health facilities, especially at level 4 and 5, to serve as the first point of access for inpatient care, critical referral and specialised care, support emergency and critical services, and offer advanced diagnostics and treatment.
The development and equipping of the ten new facilities, each with a 250-bed capacity, he acknowledged, will help alleviate the plight of more than 1 million women seeking pre- and postnatal care in remote and rural locations.
The government, through the Ministry of Health and the respective county governments, he said, will provide the necessary support, including staffing and medical supplies.
“The support by Amsons Group, a corporate investor in Kenya associated with both Bamburi Cement Plc and East Africa Portland Cement, is a timely intervention.. With the support of Amsons Group, the government will now be in a better position to guarantee maternal health and curb maternal and newborn mortality as part of our national development agenda,” Ruto said.
“The Government of Kenya deeply appreciates the support of Edha Nahdi and Amsons Group, first by choosing Kenya as an investment destination and secondly for their devotion to share in our social development through health care systems transformation.”
Nahdi said the firm will invest more than US$3.5 million in the construction of each Amsons Mama na Mtoto Kwanza facility as part of its shared prosperity social investment goals.
Amsons Group, he said, currently holds a controlling stake in 16 market-leading firms in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Bamburi Cement and East African Portland Cement Plc (EAPC), and will continue to support development programmes as part of the firm’s social investment agenda.
“Amsons Group and its 16 subsidiaries operate in more than seven countries in Africa under a treasured shared prosperity model. Under this model, we are committed to playing a key part in Kenya’s first-world transformation journey,” Nahdi said.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, Amsons Group shares in the government’s obligation to ensure that we reduce maternal and newborn deaths. In this project, Amsons Group is not building hospitals; we are helping advance healthcare delivery in Kenya.”
By making the social investment, Amsons Group, Nahdi said, is stepping up to reduce maternal and infant mortality in some of the 26 high-burden maternal death counties in Kenya.
The firm’s support, he said, will help to reduce the current rate of newborn and maternal deaths.
The ten target counties for the Amsons Mama na Mtoto Kwanzafacilities include Nairobi (2), Kwale, Mombasa, Garissa, Kisumu, Embu, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu and West Pokot.
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