By Alex Maina
In Ziwa, Uasin Gishu County, people are still suffering because there is no proper hospital. Every time someone falls sick or there is an emergency, they must travel all the way to Eldoret town or even to other counties. This journey is long, tiring, and painful especially when someone is in serious need of help.
The Ziwa Sirikwa Level 4 Hospital was supposed to solve this problem. Construction started years ago. It was meant to bring health services close to the people to save lives. But today, in 2025, the hospital is still not complete. It has been stalled since 2015. The building stands there, unfinished, like a promise that was made and forgotten.
John Cheruiyot, a father of three, shared a painful memory. “One night, my young son got very sick. We had no car. We went from house to house looking for someone to help us. Finally, we got a car from a neighbor. I held my son in my arms the whole way to Eldoret. He could not breathe properly. That journey broke my heart. If the hospital here was working, we would have reached and be assisted much faster,” he said.
Another resident, David Kiptoo, talked about a recent accident. A boda boda rider was hit by a vehicle on the road. “He was bleeding badly. People rushed to help, but we had no hospital to take him to nearby. We had to drive all the way to Eldoret. By the time we reached, it was too late. He was announced dead on arrival,” David said with sadness.
These stories are not new in Ziwa. They happen all the time. The people are tired. They want action. They want help.
Recently, the Cabinet Secretary for Health visited the stalled hospital. He asked the contractor hard questions about why the project has taken so long. The contractor, in front of everyone, promised to resume work immediately. All the payments have already been made. Now the people are waiting to see the machines back on site hoping this time round the hospital is completed.
The people of Ziwa are not asking for too much. They just want a working hospital. They want to stop losing lives because of distance. They want to be treated close to home and many lives saved.
