Cancer patients in Mombasa and the wider Coast region are set to receive expanded emotional, physical and social support following a KES 63 million partnership between M-Pesa Foundation and Faraja Cancer Support Trust to establish a dedicated therapy centre at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH).
The two-storey Faraja Cancer Therapy Centre will provide complementary services to cancer patients and their caregivers, addressing needs that often extend beyond medical treatment.
The facility will include counselling rooms for children and individual patients, family therapy rooms and other social amenities designed to support patients through the different stages of their cancer journey.
Celestine Munda, Trustee at M-Pesa Foundation, said the investment in the facility seeks to improve access to healthcare while easing pressure on existing services at the hospital.
“Our investment in infrastructure looks to address the delays in reaching, seeking and receiving health care, enabling Kenyans to access health care when they need it, with dignity,” Munda said.
She added that the additional space would improve clinical efficiency and help reduce turnaround time at the hospital, which receives large numbers of patients seeking treatment.
CGTRH is the only public facility in the Coast region offering oncology services and attends to more than 3,000 patients every month. The new centre is expected to strengthen the hospital’s ability to provide support services alongside cancer treatment.
The need for such services remains significant. Available statistics indicate that about 80 per cent of cancer patients in Kenya do not have access to comprehensive care, while only about 20 per cent receive sufficient support to manage the disease. The country records approximately 48,000 new cancer cases annually.
Faraja Cancer Support Trust Founding Trustee Shaira Adamali said cancer affects more than a patient’s physical health, often placing pressure on families, livelihoods and emotional wellbeing.
“Beyond its impact on health, Cancer affects the whole person. Their emotional wellbeing, families, livelihoods and their ability to cope, making it an incredibly difficult journey. Faraja was created to provide complementary support such as counselling, nutritional advice, physical therapy as well as financial assistance for patients who are struggling to access treatment, easing the challenges that cancer brings,” said Adamali
The organisation has supported cancer patients for 16 years, mainly through its Nairobi operations. The Mombasa centre is expected to reduce the burden on patients from the Coast and surrounding counties who would otherwise need to travel to Nairobi to access supportive care.
The partnership therefore represents an expansion of cancer care beyond the hospital treatment room, placing greater emphasis on the emotional, social and practical challenges patients and their families face.
The M-Pesa Foundation has invested KES 208 million in health projects across Mombasa County, supporting upgrades at facilities including Likoni Sub-County Hospital, Mbungoni Health Centre, Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital and Railways Dispensary.
The new therapy centre is expected to extend this investment by bringing specialised supportive cancer care closer to thousands of patients in the Coast region.