First Lady Rachel Ruto today presided over the handover of cochlear implant devices worth Sh120 million, a life-changing donation aimed at restoring hearing—and hope—to dozens of Kenyan children living with hearing impairments.
The devices, presented to the Ministry of Health under the First Lady’s Voice of Children Program, were a gift from Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Asma of Morocco, ahead of the Princess’s official visit to Kenya next week.
“This gift is far greater than its monetary value,” Mrs. Ruto said during the event at State House, Nairobi. “It is a gift of sound, connection, and renewed possibility. For the children and families who will benefit, it means hearing laughter, music, and the voices of loved ones — some for the very first time.”
The First Lady called on the Ministry of Health to ensure the implants reach children most in need across the country. She underscored the importance of comprehensive care, noting that successful implantation requires both skilled surgery and extensive post-operative therapy to help recipients adjust to their new sense of hearing.
“The Ministry’s support in coordinating both the surgical procedures and the essential post-surgery therapy will enable beneficiaries to fully embrace a new phase of life — one defined by sound, connection, and opportunity,” she added.
A specialized team from Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), led by Acting CEO Dr. Richard Lesiyampe, will conduct the surgeries. According to Dr. Lesiyampe, 54 children will be operated on at KNH starting Monday, while an additional 10 procedures will take place at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret.
“We are very grateful and we do not take this for granted,” said Dr. Lesiyampe.
Also present at the event were Dr. Abraham Korir Sing’oei, Principal Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, and Dr. Ouma Oluga, Principal Secretary for Medical Services.
Dr. Oluga confirmed that the Social Health Authority (SHA) will fully cover the cost of the procedures, which are included in its benefits package with a reimbursement rate of KSh 358,000 per patient. He noted that the cochlear implant procedure had previously been listed among 36 medical services unavailable in the country.
“Your Excellency, what you have done today is remove it from that list,” Dr. Oluga said. “You have challenged us to go back and review the gazette notice.”
PS Sing’oei hailed the donation as a testament to the strengthening diplomatic and humanitarian ties between Kenya and Morocco, attributing the gesture to the First Lady’s longstanding friendship with the Moroccan royal family.
“It is through the heavy lifting that you and His Excellency the President have done to elevate the status of our relationship with the Kingdom of Morocco,” he said. “It is through your friendship, forged over several years, that Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Asma is visiting Kenya next week at your invitation.”
As the ceremony concluded, the atmosphere at State House was one of gratitude and optimism—for families awaiting the return of sound to their children’s lives, and for a nation reminded that compassion, when paired with partnership, can heal in ways that transcend statistics.
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