The Dawoodi Bohra community has pledged Sh200 million for revamping of Likoni Level 4 Hospital to improve access to healthcare and ease congestion at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH).
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir made the announcement when he presided over the laying of the foundation stone at the facility accompanied by the representatives of the Dawood Bohra Community.
The Governor regretted that the facility had been overwhelmed by increased patient numbers for years, with thousands being turned away to seek specialised care across the Likoni ferry.
“In some cases the patients have to be referred from here all the way to Coast General Hospital because the services are not available on this side of Mombasa,” he said.
The redeveloped hospital will house an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a High Dependency Unit (HDU), multiple operating theaters, MRI and imaging services, and a maternity wing.
The Governor said the project is expected to be completed within one year, after which he intends to invite His Holiness Sayyidina Mufaddal Sayfuddin to personally open the facility.
“By the powers vested in me by the people of Mombasa, upon completion, this facility will permanently bear the name of His Holiness. By doing so, future generations will understand and appreciate the profound impact the Bohra community has had in living alongside other communities in Mombasa,” Nassir said.
Alongside the Bohra-funded redevelopment, a modern maternity unit is being constructed at the same site through a partnership with Safaricom Foundation. The Governor confirmed the county is simultaneously building or upgrading hospitals in Kongowea, Port Reitz, Mikindani, Bofu, Mjambere, and Kisauni, with CGTRH also earmarked for expansion.
Henceforth, the Governor announced that the County Government will pay for the Taifa care medical cover administered by the Social Health Authority for all patients seeking treatment at county facilities, with children under five receiving free healthcare from birth, including surgeries.
“Health should not be the reason a person lies in bed unable to be treated. Health must be a right for every person in Mombasa, from birth all the way to heart surgery, if necessary, at Coast General. We will cater for the costs,” he said.
He further announced full digitalization of patient management across all county hospitals, abolishing paper prescriptions and manual queuing. “The days of giving a patient a paper and telling them to go buy medicine outside, while the government has already purchased medicine for hospitals, are long gone. We have to change our attitude,” the Governor said.
He also announced that Community Health Promoters across the county would earn good salaries and also enjoy full insurance coverage, the first such arrangement in the country.
Likoni Member of Parliament Mishi Mboko praised the Governor’s track record, telling residents to judge their leader by his actions rather than his words. “Last week, he was in Kongowea commissioning the construction of a Level 4 hospital. Today, he is here in Likoni. He has plans for Kisauni. He has done so many things, and this is only his first term,” she said.
The MP said the Governor had delivered on his promises and commended the partnership model he had pursued to bridge funding gaps.
“You came with Safaricom as partners, you went to look for other partners because the government funding is not enough. You started this modern maternity initiative for mothers,” she said.
By Ramadhan Nassib
