Murang’a County has launched Kenya’s largest public digital healthcare initiative,
which connects 170 health facilities and is delivered by Paratus Kenya under the Paratus Essential
Access offering with Starlink satellite connectivity.
The rollout improves access to healthcare for approximately 1.2 million residents in Murang’a
county, most of whom live in rural communities. The project is regarded as one of the largest
connected telemedicine programmes not only in Kenya but also in Africa.
The initiative combines telemedicine with digital health reporting and allows patients to access
specialist consultations at their nearest clinic while enabling Community Health Promoters to submit
healthcare data digitally from the field. This improves patient care, disease monitoring and the
speed of service delivery across the county. Patients benefit from faster diagnosis, reduced travel
time, improved referrals and access to specialist expertise previously unavailable in many rural
areas. Digital records can also be accessed remotely, while lab samples are transported to larger
facilities and results uploaded back into the system for immediate review.
The project forms part of Murang’a County’s healthcare transformation programme under the
leadership of Governor Dr. Irungu Kang’ata and supports Kenya’s broader Universal Health Coverage
and digital healthcare goals.
Governor Dr. Irungu Kang’ata says: “This programme is improving access to healthcare by connecting
facilities, empowering healthcare workers and ensuring communities can receive quality medical
support closer to home. It is a major step forward in strengthening healthcare delivery across
Murang’a.”
The telemedicine system currently supports hundreds of consultations daily through a central hub,
allowing doctors to connect remotely with patients in surrounding clinics and dispensaries. The
rollout also includes digital health hubs that extend access to surrounding communities. There are
currently 170 public health facilities operational on the Paratus Essential Access programme in
Murang’a with a further 302 being added before the end of the year. With 15 doctors based at the
central telemedicine hub, the Murang’a digital health access service can handle between 450 to 600
patients per day.
Paratus Kenya managed the Paratus Essential Access and Starlink installation across the county after
the initial pilot of just 35 health facilities was deemed successful at the end of 2025. Paratus
Essential Access also provides reliable and fast connectivity to institutions including hospitals,
schools, NGOs, police stations, fire stations and digital hubs.
MD of Paratus Kenya, Joseph Kibwott says: “Paratus Essential Access is designed to support the
institutions that communities depend on every day. This project demonstrates how connectivity can
help transform healthcare access and improve service delivery in underserved areas. It is literally a
lifeline for rural communities.”
The official launch of the groundbreaking Murang’a Digital Healthcare Access programme takes
place on 28 May 2026 at the county’s telemedicine hub, where healthcare stakeholders and national
media will experience live demonstrations of the system. Also attending the event will be leading
healthcare officials from other African countries, such as Nigeria and Ethiopia, where digital
telemedicine applications are also needed.
