I am honored and elated at the same time to announce that we’ve made history by becoming the first Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) county to perform the first ever laparoscopic surgery in public hospital in the region. Indeed it is a momentous and historic occasion for Wajir county as the groundbreaking surgery, also known as keyhole surgery or minimally invasive surgery, was carried out in Wajir County Referral Hospital, making the facility only the seventh public hospital in the country to offer such procedure to patients.

Laparoscopic surgery is a surgical technique that allows the surgeon to make tiny incisions in the skin and perform an operation inside the abdomen or pelvis using miniature cameras and instruments.

Compared to traditional open surgery, laparoscopic surgery involves less pain, minimal scarring, and faster recovery times allowing patients to be discharged on the same day.

The delicate and exceptional procedure was performed by a team of highly skilled general consultants and laparoscopic surgeons led by Dr. Jamal Abade and Dr. Hussein Bile. Two patients benefited from laparoscopic appendectomy and one cholecystectomy. Appendectomy is the surgical operation to remove the appendix while cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder. The surgeries if done in a private hospital are estimated to cost between ksh 200,000 -500, 000.

The implementation of laparoscopic surgery in Wajir County has significant implications for the future of healthcare in the ASAL region of Kenya. With this technology, patients who would have previously had to travel long distances or even abroad for treatment can now access high-quality healthcare services closer to home.

I encourage Wajir residents to seek these services at Wajir Referral hospital. This is a game-changer for our county and one that will undoubtedly improve access to healthcare services in the area and positively impact the region’s socio-economic development. The success of this laparoscopic surgery is a testament to my administration’s ongoing efforts to improve healthcare services in the county and demonstrates the potential for innovation in the county’s medical sector.

My administration will continue to prioritise in investing in cutting-edge healthcare technologies to increase accessibility to healthcare services for Wajir residents. This feat is a huge step in the right direction for the healthcare sector for the county, ASAL region and Kenya at large.

With the introduction of laparoscopic surgery, the barriers to access medical care have significantly been lowered, and patients who require advanced surgeries can now benefit from quicker recovery times, less pain, minimal scarring, and lower costs.

My sincere gratitude to the highly skilled doctors who made these procedures a huge success. In particular Dr. Abdirazak Mohamed our own homegrown doctor from Nairobi who visited us to give back to his community in this milestone surgery.