Patients admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) are reportedly facing food shortages and irregular meal supply, raising concerns about patient welfare at the country’s largest referral facility.
Investigative reports indicate that at some points, hospital food supplies have run out, forcing patients to depend on relatives and well-wishers for meals.
Healthcare workers and insiders say that when food is available, patients are often served very basic meals such as ugali, cabbage, ndengu, and plain porridge, which they argue lack adequate nutritional value for sick patients. Some staff members have warned that poor nutrition is slowing recovery for vulnerable patients, especially those without family support to supplement hospital meals.
The reported shortages are part of wider operational challenges at KNH, which has also struggled with shortages of essential medicines and laboratory reagents.
The situation has been linked to financial constraints, following a government directive requiring KNH to remit all internally generated revenue to the National Treasury, limiting the hospital’s ability to promptly pay suppliers, including food contractors.
However, KNH management has dismissed claims that patients are going hungry. Acting CEO Dr. Richard Lesiyampe described the reports as “misinformation,” maintaining that the hospital continues to provide meals to patients and that nutrition remains a core component of clinical care.
So far, no Cabinet Secretary or senior government official has issued a direct public statement specifically addressing the food situation at KNH, although national leaders have previously acknowledged broader funding challenges affecting public hospitals and the health sector.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern and debate over healthcare financing, accountability, and patient care standards at Kenya’s major public health institutions.
