The M-Pesa Foundation, Proximie Limited have established a Digital Operating Room at the Kilifi County Referral Hospital, aimed at strengthening maternal and neonatal health under the Uzazi Salama Programme.
The Operating Room which will handle emergency obstetric and neonatal care will be essential to reducing maternal and infant mortality through timely surgeries via technology. Patients in the county will not have to travel long distances to seek emergency care since the technology will facilitate surgeries virtually averting any loss of life or an increase in complications.
“Our collaboration with Proximie through this technology will strengthen the Uzazi Salama Programme by bringing communities closer to specialised health services. As M-Pesa Foundation, our commitment is to provide reliable network through our strong 4G and 5G technology by Safaricom which will power this tele-surgery solution and ensure seamless procedures without interruptions,” said Patricia Ithau, Trustee, M-Pesa Foundation.
The tele-surgery solution will limit the need for referrals by carrying out complex and specialised live procedures which will bring services closer to the community. To increase quality of care, the innovation will connect surgeons at the Kilifi County Referral Hospital with other practitioners locally and beyond to build capacity and expertise for surgical procedures and save lives.
“The maternal health indicators in Kilifi are what led us to choose this county for the Digital Operating Room to curb instances of maternal and infant mortality. Uzazi Salama is an opportunity for us to plug in with innovative solutions at scale. We have garnered the support of key stakeholders such as the Surgical Society of Kenya to implement this programme. Our assurance is that patient data remains confidential with data protection a key aspect of this project,” said Dr. Shannon Shibata- Germanos, Head of Global Health, Proximie.
Kilifi County continues to face high maternal and newborn mortality rates. The maternal mortality rate is 532 per 100,000 live births according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS). Neonatal mortality is approximately 24 per 1,000 live births, infant mortality is 34 per 1,000 with under-five mortality standing at 40 per 1,000. Some health facilities in the county lack 24-hour maternity services limiting access to emergency care.
The tele-surgery solution is timely since it will address the gaps in emergency care and expand access to Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health in the Uzazi Salama Programme. The programme, launched in 2024, was scaled from the two sub-counties of Kilifi South and Magarini to all sub-counties of Kilifi County. The Operating Room will be an opportunity to serve a much larger community and reduce maternal related complications.
Proximie is a global health technology company that digitises operating rooms through Artificial Intelligence, cloud-based software and augmented reality. Their work involves connecting surgeons globally to virtual operations to improve surgical efficiency. Founded in 2016, the technology company democratizes access to the best surgical expertise, closes the surgical equity gap and standardises the quality of patient.
