Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) has entered into a partnership with The Nairobi Hospital to provide subsidised radiotherapy services.
The deal offers fresh hope to cancer patients at the Kisumu-based facility who have long endured delays in accessing specialised care.
The two-year Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) seeks to bridge a critical gap at JOOTRH which currently provides chemotherapy, cancer screening and palliative care but does not have a functional radiotherapy unit.
Until now, patients in need of radiotherapy are referred to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) or Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).
However, these national facilities are often overwhelmed by high patient volumes, resulting in long waiting lists that can allow the disease to progress before treatment begins.
Under the new arrangement, JOOTRH patients requiring radiotherapy will be fast-tracked to The Nairobi Hospital, where treatment is expected to start within a week of referral.
“This partnership is about patient-centred care,” said JOOTRH Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Joshua Clinton Okise during the signing ceremony.
“By leveraging innovative partnerships, we are ensuring our patients access specialised services without the burden of long waiting times or prohibitive costs,” he added.
To ease the financial strain on patients and their families, the agreement, he said, introduces a structured co-payment plan, making radiotherapy services at The Nairobi Hospital more affordable for those referred from JOOTRH and allowing for immediate initiation of care.
The partnership, he said, was a stop-gap measure as JOOTRH works towards establishing its own comprehensive cancer centre.
Dr. Okise said the urgency of the deal was reflected in data from the hospital’s oncology dashboard, which shows that between 2012 and 2025, JOOTRH recorded 4,525 new cancer cases.
Women accounted for 54 per cent of the cases, while men represented 36 per cent.
The most commonly diagnosed cancers at the facility include cervical, oesophageal, breast, prostate and colorectal cancers.
JOOTRH’s head of oncology, Dr. Fiona Adagi, lauded the partnership, saying it was set to alleviate the suffering of cancer patients undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Timely access to radiotherapy, she said, was a critical bridge in the cancer treatment journey, noting that the new partnership would significantly improve outcomes for patients who previously had little option but to wait.
By Chris Mahandara
