We recently visited another local health clinic called the Kimana Health clinic to get a different perspective. The clinic I wrote about before, Mbirikani Health Clinic, is funded and run by a donor from Chicago, while the Kimana Health Clinic is funded and run by the Kenyan government. The Mbirikani clinic is open and free to members of the Mbirikani group ranch area, and those living outside those boundaries go to the Kimana Health Clinic (which is still 100% free).

The difference between the two was astonishing. The Mbirkiani Clinic was staffed with four doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and other clinic workers in addition to medical counselors. The facility had electricity, a fully stocked pharmacy that spanned three separate rooms, nutritional materials, and a lab with state of the art equipment.

The Kimana Health Clinic was staffed by four nurses, one clinic worker and a few public health specialists (no doctors). The clinic had only a few old buildings, a couple of beds, storage closet pharmacy with limited medications, and a laboratory with a hand operated centrifuge and one microscope.

It’s hard to put into words the difference between the two; on a scale from 1 to 10, Mbirikani Clinic was an 8, Kimana Clinic was a 1. The issue isn’t necessarily funding – its government corruption. One of the first thing we learned is that the distribution of money throughout the country in terms of what programs get what money, is completely dependant on who is in office. Touring the Mbirkinai Clinic and speaking with the staff was really hopeful and wonderful to see that such good medical care was available. The Kimana Clinic was disheartening to see the care that a majority of Kenyans have access to and also to see the low priority of medical care in the government’s budget.