The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has entered into a partnership with St. John Ambulance to build 19 mobile first aid posts and four trauma centres along key transport corridors. The initiative aims to address high rates of road accidents and reduce fatalities by delivering rapid first response and stabilisation services at accident hotspots before victims are transferred to hospitals.
Under the agreement, KeNHA and St. John Ambulance will develop a memorandum of understanding to guide the collaboration. Among the key components are the training of boda‑boda operators, traffic police officers, and other first responders — those often first on the scene — in life‑saving first aid. These facilities, both first‑aid posts and trauma centres, are meant to ensure that the “golden hour” after a crash — the first 60 minutes, when medical care is crucial — is not lost due to delays.
The project comes in response to data showing that thousands of Kenyans die in road accidents each year, many because emergency response is delayed. The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics both report increasing numbers of fatalities and serious injuries along major highways and blackspots.
Already, areas like Karai in Naivasha have been identified as priority zones. The Karai trauma centre, for example, has been set up along the A104 road, which is among the busiest and deadliest road stretches. Additionally, an accident response centre has recently opened in Kinungi on the Nairobi‑Nakuru highway, to provide first‑aid, stabilisation, and quicker evacuations from crash sites.
Officials say that the first aid posts and trauma centres will help to reduce the delay between when a crash occurs and when serious medical help arrives. KeNHA and St John intend these new facilities to fill gaps along corridors of heavy traffic and known blackspots, thereby lowering mortality and morbidity from road crashes.
