The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) started its first phase of operations in the IFO 2 Dadaab Refugee Camp as a lead agency offering health services and camp management services from 27th October 2011. Initially, the KRCS set up temporary clinics with outreach services. In 2012, the Society with funding from the African Union, the German Red Cross and Rotary Germany started the construction of a Level 5 Hospital in IFO 2 East which would serve as a referral hospital for all the five existing camps that currently serve close to 500,000 refugees. This brings care much closer.
In the past twenty three years of the camp’s existence patients would have to be transported to Garissa or Nairobi for specialized medical care.
The new hospital although not fully operational opened its doors in this first phase on Thursday July 4th 2013 and the first patient was a 1 month old baby called Suleiman Hussein Abdirahman who was suffering from severe acute malnutrition and upper respiratory infection.
The hospital which has 6 wards and 2 theatres can comfortably admit up to about 100 – 120 patients.This new health facility is a long term project that will directly benefit about 64,962 refugees living in IFO 2 East and West as well as at least another 424,648 people who make up the entire refugee population in Dadaab as well as the host community.
