The type of healthcare offered during childbirth in hospitals and other health facilities varies considerably across Kenya. A few expectant mothers will give birth to their babies in suites offering five star hotel style service with several trained health staff at their beck and call. In their plush hospital wings, the mothers can get their hair …
Month: July 2017
Health is a complex phenomenon to document. However, by looking at 1) how long people live, 2) what sort of life they live (‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’) and 3) how easy or difficult it is to access healthcare, we can get a glimpse of the current health situation in Kenya. 1) How long do Kenyans live? …
The problem There were few African doctors working in East Africa during the colonial period. In 1958, one of them, Samson Nathan Mwathi, at a conference in San Francisco, USA, gave a talk titled Medical Problems in Kenya (which can be read here). Highlighting one of the problems, he said: We need many more African …
The early years The first Christian missionaries arrived in Kenya in the late 19th century. Ann Beck’s well renowned book, A history of the British Medical Administration of East Africa, 1900-1950 which was published in 1970 (hereafter referred to as Ann Beck’s book) states that the missionaries perceived …the gospel of healing as an essential aspect of …
Ann Beck’s book A history of the British Medical Administration of East Africa, 1900-1950, which was published in 1970, tells the story of health and medicine in Kenya during the colonial period. (I cite this book in this article and hereafter, refer to it as Ann Beck’s book). The beginning The story begins when the …
In the beginning Traditional medicine was practised in Kenya long before the missionaries and colonialists set foot in Kenya and has been passed on from generation to generation. There is a lot of interest in the huge variety of plant-based preparations used as traditional medicines and in the healing practices undertaken by Kenyan communities. Several …