Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has announced that the National Ambulance Dispatch Centre at the Social Health Authority (SHA) headquarters in Nairobi is complete and ready for commissioning.
Duale said President William Ruto will officially launch the facility on Wednesday, August 5, marking a major step in the government's efforts to strengthen emergency medical response under the Taifa Care programme.
The CS made the announcement after inspecting the facility to assess its operational readiness ahead of the launch.
“I held an inspection visit of the National Ambulance Dispatch Centre at the Social Health Authority (SHA) Headquarters in Nairobi to assess its operational readiness ahead of its official launch by President William Samoei Ruto,” Duale said.
“The facility is complete and fully prepared for commissioning, marking a major step in strengthening our emergency medical response under the Taifa Care programme.”
The centre will operate through the SHA 922 Lifeline and serve as Kenya's central command hub for coordinating emergency medical services across all 47 counties.
Through a single national platform, the centre will coordinate ambulance dispatch, manage emergency calls, undertake clinical triage and track ambulances in real time.
It will also facilitate coordination between ambulance teams and health facilities to ensure patients are referred to appropriate facilities and receive timely emergency care.
Duale said more than 200 ambulances accredited by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) had already been integrated into the system, with additional service providers expected to join as nationwide coverage expands.
The facility is staffed by a multidisciplinary team of 40 trained professionals, including medical officers, doctors and customer service personnel.
The team will be responsible for managing emergency dispatch operations, handling calls and supporting the digital systems used to coordinate ambulance services.
Duale said the centre had been developed in collaboration with the Kenya Red Cross, ambulance service providers and Safaricom, highlighting the government's efforts to use technology to improve access to emergency healthcare.
SHA leadership led by Chief Executive Officer Dr Mercy Mwangangi hosted Duale during his inspection visit.
The National Ambulance Dispatch Centre at the Social Health Authority (SHA) headquarters in Nairobi /HANDOUTFor years, ambulance response services in Kenya have been largely fragmented, with counties, hospitals and private providers operating separate ambulance fleets and communication systems.
The lack of a coordinated national dispatch mechanism has sometimes made it difficult to quickly identify the nearest available ambulance, track vehicles and coordinate referrals between emergency responders and health facilities.
The new centre is expected to address some of these challenges by providing a centralised system for receiving emergency calls, deploying ambulances and coordinating communication between responders and healthcare facilities.
The system is also expected to improve the utilisation of existing ambulance resources by allowing dispatchers to identify available vehicles and direct them to emergencies based on location and need.
Real-time ambulance tracking will provide dispatchers with information on the location and movement of emergency vehicles, potentially helping reduce delays and improving accountability in the delivery of emergency services.
