How the Kakuma Refugee Camp Got its First Child Operating Room

The Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya hosts over 190,000 refugees. 40,000 of them are children but don’t have access to vital care and often have to travel far. In partnership with UNHCR and the Turkana Ministry of Health, Dr. Neema Kaseje opened the first children’s operating room in 2021. Since then, the number of children receiving surgical care has grown by 40%. The room has served hundreds of children, not only in the Kakuma refugee camp but also in the surrounding county of Turkana. Some of the equipment has been provided by the Scottish charity KidsOR. Dr. Kaseje, also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, hopes this can be a model for other camps. Watch the video to learn more about how this operating room is serving children in and around the Kakuma refugee camp.