Kenya medical electiveSiaya District Hospital

Kenya Medical Elective - Siaya District Hospital

Location: Siaya, Western Kenya

Outpatient Clinics: Casualty Dept, Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centre for HIV/AIDS, Anti Retroviral Therapy Clinics, Chest Clinics (TB, COAD, Asthma), Mother and Child Health Clinics, Antenatal Clinics, Diabetes Clinic, Eye Unit, Dental Clinic, Ear, Nose and Throat, Immunizations, Psychiatric consultations 

Inpatient Wards: Medical, Surgical, Orthopaedics, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Maternity

Medical Facilities: X-ray, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Laboratory, Theatre, Pharmacy 

Number of Doctors: 25

Number of Beds: 240

Siaya District Hospital - Summary

Siaya District Hospital is a large teaching hospital situated in Siaya Town serving an extremely large population of rural living people. The hospital itself is quite run down and is lacking in government funding, but they have recently opened a medical and nursing school in the area so there are now a lot of Kenyan student doctors and nurses completing their training at the hospital so government funding is on the increase. 

Siaya district is a rural area in the Nyanza Province of Kenya, close to Lake Victoria and the Ugandan border. It is one of the poorest regions of Kenya which continually faces a number of economic problems, including high unemployment rates (particularly in the youth), limited farm productivity (regular droughts have occurred in Nyanza Province over the last decade and beyond), poor infrastructure and government services and a lack of affordable, quality healthcare.

Unfortunately Siaya district also has the highest rates of morbidity and mortality in the country due to infectious diseases and the infant mortality rates in Siaya are very high. The most common diseases in Siaya district are malaria, HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, and skin diseases. Severe malnutrition is another major problem, with rates estimated at 2.5 to 5% in children less than 36 months of age.

Recent statistics at Siaya District Hospital show that there are approximately 3 births per day and further statistics show that over 10% of babies were born with low birth weight, and nearly 5% were born prematurely. Nearly 20% of women visiting the Siaya District Hospital Antenatal Clinic had a positive blood smear for malaria, these high rates of low birth weight and premature deliveries are likely to be related to malarial infection during pregnancy.

We have been sending Medical Students to Siaya District Hospital since 2003 and we have a strong working relationship based on mutual respect and support from Moving Mountains Trust. Over the years we have provided a variety of equipment and medical supplies for Siaya District Hospital, most of which have been donated by Medical Students who have spent time at the hospital and have raised funds for our charity.

Elective Video from Western Kenya - Excellent compilation video of Phil Huang's experiences throughout his Medical Elective at Siaya District Hospital and Dophil Community Clinic (December 2005) in Western Kenya.

Elective Blog from Western Kenya - Kiren Dulku's Medical Elective Blog from Siaya District Hospital and Dophil Community Clinic (December 2005) in Western Kenya.

Elective students talking with their supervising Doctor

Critical care at Baby Unit in Siaya District Hospital

Donating equipment funded by Medical Students to Siaya District Hospital

Siaya District Hospital's Vision, Mission and Values.