Pumwani Maternity Hospital has established an upgraded newborn unit in Nairobi, adding new technology and infrastructure—including a central heating system—to address hypothermia among newborns, according to a press release dated June 10, 2026.

The hospital, which said it delivers about 80 to 90 babies daily and is marking its 100th anniversary this year, stated that the modernisation is intended to strengthen neonatal care at what it described as Kenya’s largest maternity facility and a key referral point for complicated cases. The press release also noted that Nairobi accounts for about 10% of births in Kenya, positioning interventions at Pumwani as significant for maternal and newborn outcomes beyond the facility.

Hypothermia—when newborns are unable to regulate their body temperature—has been a longstanding clinical challenge at the hospital. Dr Chris Mugambi, Pumwani Maternity Hospital’s Medical Superintendent and a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, described the condition as “an invisible enemy” for newborns at the facility.

Dr Mugambi said the installation of the central heating system has already delivered measurable gains. “The central heating component has enabled us to achieve above 75 per cent improvement in thermal regulation outcomes, saving infant lives on the backdrop of stretched demand,” he said.

The initiative was supported through a partnership involving the Nairobi City County Government, Pumwani Maternity Hospital and Safaricom Foundation-linked programmes, the statement said. Safaricom Foundation Chairman Joseph Ogutu said the intervention forms part of the Uzazi Salama programme, which he said is aligned to the World Health Organization’s Every Woman, Every Newborn, Everywhere (EWENE) action plan.

“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 as we journey towards the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals,” Ogutu said.

Funding for the heating component was provided by the M-Pesa Foundation, which the press release said put in KES 13 million towards the installation of the central heating system in the newborn unit. The statement linked the project to Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), citing its role in strengthening referral healthcare services.

Nairobi City County Chief Officer for Medical Services Maryam Dahir said the upgraded unit is expected to improve maternal and newborn care at a facility that the press release said accounts for about 10% of the country’s total births. “This means we are responsible for approximately one in every ten maternal cases in Kenya,” she said.

Dahir added that the county views partner support as part of broader health system strengthening efforts. “As a county, we receive this with great gratitude and we look forward to continued partnership, and where possible, cascading similar support to other facilities within the city,” she said.

For Kenya’s health sector and its financing landscape, the project underscores the growing role of public-private partnerships and philanthropic capital in bridging gaps in critical hospital infrastructure, particularly in high-volume public facilities. Thermal regulation is a basic but often under-resourced component of neonatal care, and Pumwani’s scale—80 to 90 deliveries a day, according to the statement—means efficiency gains can translate into system-level impact if replicated.

Next, county health leaders indicated interest in extending similar support to other facilities within Nairobi. Future milestones will likely include monitoring clinical outcomes from the upgraded unit and assessing whether comparable heating and equipment interventions can be deployed across other maternity and newborn units in the county’s referral network.