Thousands of Children to Benefit from New Solar Powered Pediatric Surgical Facilities in Kimilili

IcFEM Dreamland Mission Hospital in Bungoma County, Western Kenya has unveiled a solar-powered paediatric theatre that has been renovated by global charities Smile Train and Kids Operating Room (KidsOR).

Hundreds of children are expected to benefit from the state-of-the-art Operating Room, which is not only aesthetically appealing with child-friendly art on the walls, but it has also been outfitted with equipment tailored for pediatric surgical care. Additionally, to mitigate against power cuts and reduce on greenhouse gas emissions, the hospital has been kitted with a stand-alone solar system.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Smile Train Senior Program Manager East and Southern Africa Joseph Kariuki acknowledged that the support by Smile Train and KidsOR will greatly improve access to both elective and emergency pediatric operations at the Hospital, thereby reducing morbidities and mortalities from delays in emergency surgery and long waits for elective surgery.

“Untreated surgical conditions like clefts rob children of dignity and opportunity, fuelling stigma, exclusion, and long‑term economic loss for their communities. Through sustainable partnerships, Smile Train, together with Kids Operating Room strengthens public health systems by supporting hospitals like IcFEM Dreamland Mission Hospital to deliver safe, high‑quality pediatric surgery where it’s needed most,” noted Joseph.

David Cunningham, Managing Director of Kids Operating Room, added: “Over the years of collaborating with Smile Train, our greatest impact is in leveraging technology to elevate surgical services reaching the most vulnerable in under-resourced countries. We believe that having a dedicated children’s operating theatre in the country, will create a brighter and healthier future for the children living here.”

IcFEM Dreamland Mission Hospital, which serves over 2 million people in Bungoma County has a 20 pediatric bed capacity and has treated over 740 patients with clefts since 2014. Hospital Director Mrs. Ruth Nabie expressed delight at the new theatre saying: “IcFEM is a hidden gem in Bungoma that provides comprehensive cleft care including nutrition support and speech therapy. In addition to providing world-class standards of surgery using the new equipment, the new theatre is motivating teams to carry out more surgeries with a refreshed frame of mind. They work with uninterrupted power supply and equipment dedicated to children’s surgery.”

In low- and middle-income countries, around 85 per cent of children will need surgical care before their 15^th birthday, but more than a billion children worldwide lack access to safe, affordable, and timely surgical and anesthesia care. The pediatric theatre at IcFEM Dreamland Mission Hospital is the third one renovated by the Smile Train-KidsOR partnership in Kenya, following Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital and the Makueni County Referral Hospital.

Smile Train and Kids Operating Room continue to build surgical and anaesthesia capacity to reach patients in the last mile. Since 2020, Smile Train and Kids Operating Room have renovated 46 paediatric operating rooms in 28 African countries. The Smile Train-KidsOR collaboration has also partnered with the College of Surgeons of West Africa (WACS) and the College of Surgeons of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), to provide a paediatric surgical fellowship for the training and education of 45 paediatric surgeons across Africa. The two charities have relied on innovation to meet the dual challenge of power cuts and managing greenhouse gas emissions by installing self-sufficient solar surgery systems in 100 rooms across various regions of Africa.

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