KidsOR opens first Kids' Pediatric Centre In Kakuma

Kids Operating Room, a Charity Organisation, has announced the opening of the first fully equipped kids-friendly pediatric centre in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya.

The theater will have the capacity to facilitate surgeries for over 40,000 children living in Kakuma and train new surgeons for the first time.

The Announcement follows calls from senior advisory to UNHCR Prince Jaime on a desperate need for provision of children surgery facilities in refugee camps.

KidsOR founder Garreth and Nicola Wood felt compelled to create the foundation under the increasing number of child deaths due to lack of access to surgical treatment.

The charity saves children’s lives by supplying and fitting out paediatric operating rooms and providing training for paediatric surgeons. To date, KidsOR has installed 25 pediatric operating rooms in Africa and South America. The equipment is shipped from their warehouse in Dundee. Over 16,000 operations have been carried out on children and 250,000 years of disability prevented.

Speaking at an event in Davos, Founder wood added,

“Nicola and I are so proud to be announcing today at Davos, this project at the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. This operating room will make essential care available to tens of thousands of children. Children who are in refugee camps are no less deserving of the surgery that they need.”

KidsOR advisory member and Pediatric surgeon, Neema Kaseje said:

“There is a huge and desperate need for a paediatric surgery facility at this camp, and in many more camps around the world. I am proud that KidsOR have pledged to get children in Kakuma access to the safe surgery they so badly need.”

“Africa is a focus because Africa hosts more than 26 percent of the world’s refugee population.Usually in these settings you would find there isn’t any equipment for children or infrastructure that is adapted to children, therefore providing surgical services for children in these settings is very difficult.”