Opinion - New Diabetes Clinic at Mbagathi Signals Shift Toward Better Chronic Care

Kenya, 13 December 2025 - The decision by Mbagathi Hospital to construct a fully equipped diabetes clinic marks an important development in the management of chronic diseases within Nairobi County, where demand for specialised care continues to outstrip available services.

Announced by Chief Executive Officer Dr Alexander Irungu, the initiative highlights both the growing burden of diabetes and the structural gaps that have long undermined effective treatment in public health facilities.

More than 150,000 people living with diabetes depend on Mbagathi Hospital and its surrounding referral network.

Yet until now, diabetes services at the hospital have been limited to a single clinic day per week. This constrained schedule has translated into patient review intervals stretching to four months, a delay that clinicians warn increases the risk of preventable complications such as kidney failure, vision loss, cardiovascular disease and limb amputations.

From a health systems perspective, the new clinic represents an effort to shift diabetes care from crisis response to continuous disease management. By expanding service days and improving follow-up, the facility is expected to reduce missed appointments, enhance treatment adherence and allow earlier clinical intervention. These changes are particularly significant given that diabetes outcomes are closely tied to regular monitoring and timely adjustments in care.

The clinic will operate under the Centre for Driving Change (CDC) initiative, an approach that emphasizes faster diagnosis, structured follow-up and integrated care. Planned equipment includes HbA1c testing machines for long-term glucose monitoring, emergency management kits, digital patient record systems and standard examination and monitoring tools. Such infrastructure addresses a long-standing challenge in public hospitals, where lack of diagnostic capacity often delays treatment decisions or forces patients to seek costly private services.

Beyond clinical care, the facility is expected to strengthen diabetes screening and patient education—two areas critical to slowing disease progression.

Improved screening could help identify undiagnosed cases earlier, while education initiatives may empower patients to better manage diet, medication and lifestyle, reducing the long-term strain on the health system.

The partnership with global healthcare firm Novo Nordisk underscores the increasing role of public–private collaboration in addressing non-communicable diseases.

According to hospital officials, the agreement includes safeguards to ensure ethical standards, transparency and independence in clinical decision-making, with no influence on prescribing practices.