New Mobile Clinics Improve Rural Health Access

Kenyan authorities are scaling up access to healthcare in remote and underserved communities by expanding mobile clinic services. In Turkana County, the county government is collaborating with World Relief Kenya to establish mobile clinics that will deliver integrated primary health services. According to county officials, these mobile units will reach hard-to-reach areas, reducing travel distances for patients and improving response times for urgent health needs.
These mobile clinics are designed to offer a broad range of essential services. According to the proposal, they will provide health promotion, disease prevention, growth monitoring, nutrition counselling, diagnosis and treatment of common illnesses, as well as referrals to larger facilities when necessary. By bringing these services directly to communities that have historically lacked access, the initiative aims to bridge key gaps in primary health coverage.
Several NGOs and private health players are supporting the deployment of mobile clinics. For instance, Amref Health Africa, in partnership with the Croda Foundation, is operating mobile units in rural and peri-urban areas to screen for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma — while also providing vaccinations and health education. This kind of outreach is particularly important in regions where populations are dispersed and static health facilities are sparse.
Experts say that mobile health outreach represents a smart, cost-effective model for achieving Universal Health Coverage in Kenya. According to Ministry of Health norms, mobile clinics are meant to provide a package of services — including maternal and child health, HIV/TB care, malaria screening, and neglected tropical disease (NTD) management — by operating on a rotating schedule linked to static health facilities. By embedding such mobile systems into county-level health planning, policymakers hope to ensure more equitable access to care, especially for the most marginalized populations.