The official visit to Kenya of the Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo, continues with a stop in the north-west of the country, in Turkana County, to visit the humanitarian projects supported by the Order in Kakuma, one of the largest and most complex refugee settings in East Africa.
The day began with a strategic briefing at the Sub-Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kakuma, where programme managers and refugee protection officers presented humanitarian priorities and the coordination framework with more than 40 operational partners active in the area, including Malteser International, the Order of Malta’s international relief agency. Since 2001, Malteser International has been operating in Kenya to strengthen the health system, integrating programmes in health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), food security and disaster risk management, in cooperation with local institutions and national and international partners. At the Kalobeyei Reception Centre, the delegation of the Grand Chancellor observed registration and initial reception procedures, including nutritional screening services, meal distribution, child protection and assistance to the most vulnerable.
A central moment of the mission was the visit to Kakuma Mission Hospital, founded in 1964 and today the main referral health facility for over 600,000 refugees and members of the host community in the Turkana West region. Accompanied by the Bishop of the Diocese of Lodwar, Rev. John Mbinda, and the Deputy Governor of Turkana County, John Erus, the Grand Chancellor visited the emergency department, the maternity ward and the current operating theatre.
The upgrading of the maternity ward by the Order has helped improve the safety of deliveries and the management of obstetric and neonatal emergencies, reducing delays in transfers to facilities located more than 150 kilometres away and lowering infant mortality. With the blessing ceremony and laying of the foundation stone, construction began on a new operating theatre, which will help bridge the gap in emergency surgical care, including caesarean sections and trauma surgery.
The initiative – also directly funded by the Grand Magistry through the Order of Malta Donors for Projects Foundation – is part of a broader plan that includes, in addition to the construction and equipping of operating rooms, upgrading water and medical waste management systems, training surgical teams, and improving triage and referral pathways. The goal is to transform Kakuma Mission Hospital into a resilient surgical centre capable of responding to shocks linked to drought, conflict and new influxes of displaced people.
Official meeting with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi
The Grand Chancellor continued his institutional agenda in Nairobi, meeting with the Prime Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of Kenya, Musalia Mudavadi, who thanked the Order for its activities in the country, particularly in Kakuma.
The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the priorities of the Order of Malta’s global mission and its growing role on the African continent and in Kenya, where it also operates in collaboration with the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order. The Grand Chancellor expressed appreciation for the government’s cooperation in the health and humanitarian fields and his commitment to further strengthening institutional dialogue and partnerships for the benefit of the most vulnerable communities.
