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Impressions of Makueni

Prior to 2020, there was no cancer treatment available in Makueni county, which has a population of nearly 1 million. Cancer patients had to travel more than 3 hours to Nairobi and often wait for months to get an appointment.

The Makueni County Referral Hospital was built in the 1970s with a focus on infectious diseases. Cancer wasn’t a discussion at that time. The idea  of offering cancer treatment was mooted by the First Ladies Association, which includes the wives of county governors. Nazi Mwambura Kivutha, who was the first lady of Makueni County and the association chairperson in 2020, played a key role in driving forward the creation of the cancer centre.

Swiss pharma firm Roche is one of several partners at the cancer clinic in Makueni county.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR