The commissioning of the Phoebe Asiyo Oncology Centre at the Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital by H.E. Governor Gladys Wanga marks a transformative milestone in the County’s journey towards strengthening specialised healthcare and establishing Homa Bay as a regional referral hub for quality cancer care. The centre brings high-quality, comprehensive and dignified cancer services closer to patients across Homa Bay and the wider region, significantly changing the cancer care experience for patients and their families.
For many years, a cancer diagnosis has often been accompanied by the additional burden of travelling long distances to access specialised services. Patients and their families have had to contend with the high costs of transport, accommodation, treatment and prolonged stays away from home. For vulnerable families, these logistical and financial challenges can become overwhelming, sometimes forcing patients to abandon treatment and lose hope. The establishment of the Phoebe Asiyo Oncology Centre offers a significant opportunity to change this narrative by bringing specialised cancer care closer to the people.
The centre strengthens HBCTRH’s capacity to provide end-to-end cancer care across the continuum. Patients will be able to access services ranging from community screening, sample collection and proper diagnostic and confirmatory testing to specialist consultations, chemotherapy, treatment and admissions. The centre will also provide counselling and psychosocial support as well as palliative care, ensuring that patients are supported not only medically but also emotionally and socially throughout their cancer journey. By strengthening these services within the county, the centre is expected to reduce the need for external referrals by more than 90 per cent, easing the financial and logistical burden on patients while allowing them to remain closer to their families and support systems.
The investment also strengthens the link between prevention, early detection and treatment. Through community screening and outreach programmes, more people can be reached with information and screening services, increasing the likelihood of detecting cancer at an earlier and more manageable stage. Strengthened diagnostic capacity will help ensure that suspected cases are properly ascertained and confirmed, while access to specialised treatment within HBCTRH will enable patients to transition more seamlessly from diagnosis to care.
Importantly, the cancer response goes beyond clinical services. The programme recognises that cancer can have a profound economic and social impact on patients and their families. Through community-based support, patients and survivors are being supported to build resilience and improve their livelihoods. The Homa Bay Cancer Support Group CBO has received KES 400,000 in seed capital to establish income-generating activities, supporting members to raise and supplement resources for needs such as transportation and nutrition while navigating the treatment journey. Capacity building, entrepreneurship and psychosocial support therefore complement the medical interventions, helping patients and survivors maintain dignity, hope and greater economic resilience.
The commissioning of the centre has been made possible through the East Africa Comprehensive Women Cancer Project, implemented through a partnership involving the County Government of Homa Bay, the Aga Khan Foundation/Aga Khan Health Services, Kenya, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Gates Foundation. The partnership reflects the importance of collaboration in strengthening health systems and expanding access to specialised services. The wider project has also invested in cancer prevention and early detection, including screening more than 70,000 women for breast and cervical cancer and supporting HPV vaccination for more than 500,000 girls across Kenya since July 2025.
For HBCTRH, the Phoebe Asiyo Oncology Centre adds another critical dimension to its expanding specialised care capacity and reinforces its position as a regional referral hub. It represents a shift from a system where patients must routinely travel outside the county for specialised oncology services to one where comprehensive cancer care can increasingly be accessed closer to home.
As Homa Bay continues to strengthen infrastructure, specialist capacity, diagnostics, commodities and patient support systems, the County is also pursuing the longer-term ambition of National Cancer Centre accreditation. The ultimate measure of this investment will be its impact on people: earlier detection, timely and accurate diagnosis, access to appropriate treatment, fewer costly referrals and, most importantly, improved quality of life and renewed hope for patients and their families.
The Phoebe Asiyo Oncology Centre is a statement of Homa Bay’s commitment to ensuring that cancer patients receive the care they need, when they need it, without the distance, cost and logistical challenges that have for too long stood between patients and specialised care.
