When World II broke out, colonial powers not only focused on winning the war overseas but also protecting their colonies’ borders in Africa. As such, Africans were embroiled in this war as they were called upon by their colonial powers to supply manpower to fight in and out of the continent.
Kenya was a significant recruiting ground for troops for the British Army. As a result, over 98,000 of Kenyans were recruited into the King’s African Rifles (KAR) and deployed in the different warzones including in the successful East African World War II called the Abyssinian War against Italy and its Italian East Africa colony, Madagascar, and Burma.
While the war renewed activism among Kenyans, the aftermath for many soldiers was severe affliction, with spinal cord injuries topping the list of the things they suffered from. This necessitated the provision of specialised spinal injury rehabilitation services for these gallant soldiers, a step that would be the stone on which the National Spinal Injury Referral Hospital – one of Kenya’s five referral hospitals – would stand on.
Early Years
Situated along Lenana Road in the serene Kilimani area, the National Spinal Injury Referral Hospital is housed in a few bungalows that have existed since the 1940s. In its formative years, the buildings were privately owned by Amani Cheshire, who donated the land with the buildings in 1944 for use as a rehabilitation centre for soldiers who had sustained spinal cord injuries in World War II. In honour of his generosity, the centre was named Amani Cheshire Home.
Amani Cheshire Home operated until 1963, when Kenya acquired its newly independent status. In respect of this, Amani Cheshire handed the institution over to the Government of Kenya, where it was put under the management of Kenyatta National Hospital.
Gaining Institutional Semi-Autonomy
In 2000, the Ministry of Health allowed the centre to run as a semi-autonomous hospital with its own management committee but still under the guardianship of Kenyatta National Hospital.
Three years later in 2003, the hospital management committee was looking for ways to generate more revenue for the hospital, and deemed it fit to broaden the hospital’s vision beyond attending to the needs of patients with spinal injuries referred from other public and private hospitals, to cater to the needs of more Kenyans. As a result, the hospital’s services were expanded by the opening of an outpatient unit that offered general healthcare services.
Present-Day Status
Spinal injury constitutes a significant disease percentage in the country due to heightened road traffic accidents and cervical spine injuries, but the National Spinal Injury Referral Hospital remains the only public hospital with the capacity to offer specialised healthcare services to persons with spinal injuries.
Beyond being overwhelmed with promoting neurological health for Kenyans, the hospital is also still being housed in bungalows in October 2023 and founded on only 1.4 acres of land, which hinder expansion, limiting its ability to execute its mandate to the service of 35 beds. Additionally, it still lacks autonomy, which has gravely hindered independent, transformative decision-making, which has derailed its progress over the years.