Kakuma's clinics for chronic illness now have water, and nursing students have scholarships

Clinics that treat long-term illness in Kakuma have running water and more trained staff after a three-year partnership, UNHCR Kenya reported on November 3, 2026. The agency said work with the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Grundfos Foundation renovated or built clinics for non-communicable diseases at six health facilities. Those rooms had sometimes had little water or none, which made infection more likely and treatment harder. They now have equipment, power, sanitation, and the water the buildings need.

Refugees can enroll in nursing at the Kenya Medical Training College on scholarships from the partnership. The college's campus in Turkana, near the camp, was expanded so it can hold twice as many students, including more who can live in the dormitories. Refugees were also trained as community health promoters. UNHCR described Rahmo Muktar, a promoter since 2010 who lives with high blood pressure, collecting monthly medicine for herself and for her daughter, who is treated for diabetes.

Some UNHCR-supported clinics have been registered as public Kenyan clinics and tied into the national health information system. The Novo Nordisk Foundation put in 48.8 million Danish kroner and the Grundfos Foundation 13.98 million, for work carried out from 2023 through 2025. Kakuma is home to more than 330,000 people. UNHCR also said its wider Kenya budget has been badly short, so this partnership is a specific repair of clinics, water, and training. It is not a claim that every health service in the camp is funded.