The national coordination of emergency medical response took a major step forward on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, with the official launch of the National Ambulance Dispatch Centre, Kenya’s first centralised emergency medical dispatch platform serving all 47 counties.
President Dr. William Samoei Ruto presided over the launch at the Social Health Authority headquarters in Nairobi, accompanied by Cabinet Secretary for Health Aden Duale and other national and county leaders.
Accessible through the SHA 922 Lifeline, the Centre will coordinate ambulance deployment, communication between emergency responders and health facilities, patient referrals and timely access to lifesaving care across the country.
What is National Ambulance Dispatch Centre?
The technology-enabled platform features emergency call management and clinical triage, a point-of-care application through which ambulance crews can securely transmit patient information while in transit, and a real-time incident management system connected to the National Health Information Exchange. This enables receiving facilities to prepare for patients before they arrive.
More than 200 ambulances accredited by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council have already been on-boarded, with additional public and private providers expected to join the network.
Operations are supported by 40 trained doctors, medical officers, emergency dispatch officers and customer service personnel.
“This service will ensure that no Kenyan is denied emergency medical treatment as it is guaranteed by Article 43 (2) of the Constitution,” the president said.
“From today, whenever a Kenyan faces a medical emergency, the first question will never be whether they can pay. The first duty will be to save life,” he added.
Ruto flags off advanced ambulances to 7 counties
The President also flagged off seven advanced ambulances equipped to provide emergency and critical care. The ambulances were deployed to Nairobi, Wajir, Turkana, Lamu, Mandera, Nyeri and Kapenguria to strengthen emergency response capacity and expand access to lifesaving services.
The National Ambulance Dispatch Centre advances Kenya’s emergency, critical and operative care agenda by strengthening response times, referral pathways and coordination throughout the continuum of care.
