For many newborns in Kenya, survival depends on more than skilled doctors and medicine. Maintaining body temperature in the first hours of life can mean the difference between survival and serious complications.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), newborns are particularly vulnerable to hypothermia, a condition in which the body loses heat faster than it can produce it. The condition is linked to breathing difficulties, low blood sugar, infections and an increased risk of death, especially among premature and low-birth-weight babies.
A new central heating system has been installed at Pumwani Maternity Hospital’s newborn unit in an effort to reduce cases of hypothermia among infants at Kenya’s largest maternity facility, where between 80 and 90 babies are delivered every day.
Dr Chris Mugambi, the hospital’s Medical Superintendent, said hypothermia remains one of the biggest threats facing newborns, particularly those born prematurely or with low birth weight.
“If their body temperature and room temperature are not closely regulated, they do get hypothermic,” said Dr Mugambi. “Hypothermia goes a long way into increasing breathing difficulties, low blood glucose and eventually babies also get infections.”
The Sh13 million upgrade, funded through a partnership involving the M-PESA Foundation, comes as health authorities continue efforts to reduce preventable newborn deaths and improve neonatal care in high-volume public hospitals.
The project is part of the Foundation’s Uzazi Salama programme, which supports efforts to reduce maternal and newborn deaths under the WHO’s Every Woman, Every Newborn, Everywhere (EWENE) action plan.
Joseph Ogutu, chairman of the Safaricom Foundation said the partnership was aimed at improving the health and well-being of mothers and children by helping to end preventable deaths.
“We are absolutely delighted at the impact of this partnership with the Nairobi County Government and Pumwani Maternity Hospital, enabling us to improve the health and well-being of women and children in our country by ending preventable deaths,” said Ogutu.
Just a week after being recognised at State House for its progress in reducing maternal mortality, Pumwani Maternity Hospital is emerging as a national model for safe childbirth after recording only two maternal deaths out of 11,515 deliveries in 2025, down from eight deaths in 2024.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja noted that the facility, which serves as the county’s main referral centre for obstetric complications, handled 16,523 deliveries in 2024 alongside eight maternal deaths.
“In 2025, despite managing 841 obstetric complications and more than 11,500 deliveries, the hospital reduced maternal deaths to just two,” Sakaja said.
He said that the facility had already recorded further improvement in 2026, with 3,303 deliveries, 210 obstetric complications and only one maternal death reported so far.
At Pumwani, the challenge of neonatal complications has been compounded by the sheer number of deliveries, with officials saying the facility accounts for about 10 per cent of births nationally.
For years, clinicians at the hospital relied on quality improvement measures to reduce hypothermia among newborns. However, Dr Mugambi said progress remained limited before the installation of the central heating system.
“We had done what we call a work improvement team project and we were trying to get to 100 per cent where we don’t have any babies having hypothermia,” he said.
The hospital reports that thermal regulation outcomes have improved by more than 75 per cent since the system was installed.
“We are now currently above 75 per cent. Hopefully, once everything completely comes together, we are hoping to get a target of 100 per cent,” Dr Mugambi added.
The upgrade also includes beds for kangaroo mother care, a WHO-recommended practice that promotes skin-to-skin contact between mothers and premature babies to help regulate temperature and improve survival.
Speaking during the commissioning of the project, Christine Kiteshuo, Pumwani Chief Executive Officer said the hospital had already begun recording positive results.
“We have already started seeing the results of reduced hypothermia in our newborn unit,” she said. “The babies who are born with lower temperatures can now have optimum temperature for survival.”
Mariam Dahir, Nairobi County Chief Officer for Medical Services said strengthening services at Pumwani could have a wider national impact because of the facility’s central role in maternal and newborn care.
“Pumwani Maternity Hospital is the biggest in this country and one of the biggest in this region,” she said. “We provide like 10 per cent of maternal services that are provided in the entire country.”
Suzanne Silantoi, County Executive Committee of Health and Nutrition said further gains have been supported by reforms including the introduction of in-house blood donation services, expanded staffing and improved emergency care systems.
She observed that the recognition of Pumwani at State House reflected what can be achieved through sustained investment in frontline healthcare and emergency response systems.
Pumwani’s performance is increasingly being viewed as a blueprint for public hospitals seeking to improve survival rates for mothers and newborns, as Kenya continues its push to reduce maternal and newborn mortality.