County leaders are seeking partnerships to expand digital healthcare and strengthen maternal and newborn health programmes.
The Council of Governors is seeking technology partnerships and financing for a $531 million county-led plan to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
The Council of Governors (CoG) has urged development partners and technology companies to increase investment in digital healthcare to improve services across Kenya’s 47 counties, with particular emphasis on preventing maternal and newborn deaths.
The appeal came during the “Connect, Power, Heal” event held alongside the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The gathering brought together county leaders, development partners, technology innovators and health stakeholders to discuss how connectivity, dependable electricity and digital tools can strengthen healthcare delivery.
Representing the council were Mombasa Governor Abdullswamad Nassir, who chairs its Health Committee, Nandi Governor Stephen Sang, chair of the Resource Mobilisation and Partnerships Committee, and CoG Chief Executive Officer Mary Mwiti.
Digital tools to widen specialist access
The council identified digital health services and telemedicine as opportunities to extend specialist care, support clinical mentorship and improve patient outcomes. Its appeal linked investment in health technology with the connectivity and power needed to support those services.
Mombasa County presented the experience of Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, where Proximie-enabled digital surgery has supported 87 surgical sessions and 143 hours of connected operating time.
The technology allows specialists to work together remotely during operations. That capability could help health facilities draw on expertise beyond their own locations, widening access to specialist support without requiring every participating clinician to be physically present.
CoG said sustained investment in digital connectivity and health technologies would help counties improve access to healthcare. It also highlighted their potential to strengthen the sharing of clinical expertise across facilities.
$531 million maternal health investment case
The council also presented the $531 million “Beyond Boundaries” Intercounty Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) Investment Case, seeking international financing and partnerships for its implementation.
The proposal supports a county-led effort to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths by improving surveillance, response systems, collaboration and accountability. The intercounty MPDSR initiative, anchored at CoG, provides a framework for counties to learn from one another and coordinate their responses.
County leaders highlighted the initiative as part of their role in improving maternal and newborn health. The investment case seeks to strengthen that work across all 47 counties through shared learning and more effective responses to preventable deaths.
Partnerships central to county plans
CoG said cooperation with development agencies, technology firms and other stakeholders would be essential to expanding the initiative nationwide. The financing appeal was presented alongside its broader push for digital healthcare investment.
The council said it would continue working with partners to expand connectivity and health technologies while strengthening county-led programmes. Its stated goal is to prevent deaths during childbirth and improve both survival and longer-term outcomes for newborns.
