Free Scans and Surgeries in Kirinyaga: Dr. Joe Njagi's Team Marks Endometriosis Awareness Month
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month — and while many mark it with social media posts and infographics, a team of gynaecologists in Kenya chose to mark it differently: by showing up, setting up, and getting to work.
Led by Dr. Joe Njagi, the team traveled to Kirinyaga County to offer free ultrasound scans and surgeries to women living with endometriosis — a condition that affects roughly 1 in 10 women of reproductive age, yet remains chronically underdiagnosed and undertreated across sub-Saharan Africa.
The Weight of Endometriosis in Kenya
Endometriosis is not a minor inconvenience. It is a condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus — on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, bowel, and beyond — causing debilitating pain, heavy periods, and in many cases, infertility.
For women in counties like Kirinyaga, the barriers to diagnosis are stacked: limited specialist access, cost of imaging, stigma around menstrual health, and a healthcare system that has historically dismissed women's pain as normal.
A free camp cuts through every one of those barriers in a single day.
What the Camp Delivered
The initiative offered two critical interventions:
- Free ultrasound scans — giving women a diagnosis many had never been able to access
- Surgical procedures — providing definitive treatment for those who needed it
For a woman who has spent years managing pain she was told to simply endure, a diagnosis alone can be profoundly validating. Surgery can be life-changing.
The camp drew significant attention online, with the initiative being praised by clinicians and health advocates across Kenya, including recognition from the Healing Mama Africa Bootcamp community as an excellent model of outreach care.
Why Camps Like This Matter
Specialist care in Kenya remains heavily concentrated in urban centres. A gynaecologist in Kirinyaga is not a given. A laparoscopic surgeon even less so.
When a team like Dr. Njagi's makes the deliberate choice to take that expertise to the county level — free of charge, during a month dedicated to raising awareness — it does more than treat patients. It signals to women in those communities that their health is worth showing up for.
That signal matters.
The Broader Picture
Initiatives like this sit within a growing movement of surgical outreach across Kenya — one where specialists are increasingly choosing to bridge the gap between where expertise lives and where patients are.
Whether it's colorectal teams operating at KNH, cleft surgeons in Machakos, or gynaecologists setting up in Kirinyaga, the pattern is consistent: when skilled hands meet underserved communities, lives change.
This is what equitable surgical care looks like in practice.
Story originally reported by @StandardKenya. Video by Jane Mugambi. All credit to The Standard for coverage of this initiative.