Some 16 winners, including Nation’s journalist Leon Lidigu, were on Wednesday night honoured for their contribution to quality healthcare in Kenya during the fourth edition of the Quality Healthcare Kenya Awards (QHKA).
Mr Lidigu won the Media Excellence in Promoting Health and Well-Being category beating his sole challenger Lilian Kaivilu of Africa Solutions Media Hub.
Mombasa County was feted the overall winner of the county with the best-managed healthcare system.
The coastal county also bagged four other awards: Excellence in Response to COVID-19 (Kisauni and Nyali Sub County); Use of information technology to improve patient care (Bokole CDF Health Centre), Excellence in Advancing Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (Likoni Sub County Hospital) and Excellence in Improving Access to Primary Care Services (Likoni Sub County Hospital).
Tharaka Nithi County was ranked first runners-up in the category.
The county’s healthcare system was voted second best managed after Mombasa County in this year’s awards that were held on Wednesday evening in Nairobi.
Tharaka Nithi emerged second in 2019 and 2021 and in 2022, it was ranked the county with the best health system.
Makueni County won Healthcare Financing Innovation Award.
Nairobi’s Ruai Family won the coveted Hospital of the Year award as St Theresa Mission Hospital – Kiirua, Tenwek Hospital and Mam Lucy Kibaki Hospital emerged first, second and third runners-up respectively.
Chiromo Hospital Group was crowned the best for advancing mental health and well-being while Ruaraka Uhai Neema Hospital bagged the Health Facility Innovation Project of the Year award.
Dr Washington Njogu Ngari, Public Health Medicine specialist and Ruaraka Uhai Neema Hospital boss won Healthcare Leadership Award.
AAR Healthcare Kenya Limited was awarded for excellence in advancing environmental sustainability in healthcare.
Non-communicable diseases
NCDs 365 Project which uses social media to create awareness of non-communicable diseases (NCDS) – like cancers, diabetes, heart diseases, mental health and obesity – won best use of social media in the healthcare category.
Homa Bay County’s Susan Atieno Onyango and Mr Daniel Waruingi emerged winners in the Health Professional Achievement and Student Innovation Project of the Year respectively.
Dr Betty Muthoni Gikonyo, a paediatrician and pediatric cardiologist, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Karen Hospital, was honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award for her immense contribution to quality healthcare for more than 40 years.
Dr Gikonyo is the first Kenyan female cardiologist and has been instrumental in mentoring and training the majority of pediatric cardiologists in the country.
The QHKA is the brainchild of Zawadi Brand Solutions (ZBS Ltd) and works with the Ministry of Health and Amref Health Africa to improve standards of health service delivery by recognising outstanding performance, promoting a culture of continuous quality improvement, advocating for strong partnerships between health providers and users, fostering innovation and the use of information technology, and sharing best practices to encourage learning across the health sector.
Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha Wafula said it was time to join hands and make the Universal Health Coverage commitment a reality.
“Our health professionals and health workforce at large should be ready to provide quality, people-centred care, and for the policymakers; it is time for us to deliver on our commitments and invest in UHC. I believe that the right to health is a basic human right,” she said in a speech read on her behalf by Dr Simon Kibias.
