"Time for action": Nyamu backs Natalie Githinji, urges action on endometriosis

This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.

- Senator Karen Nyamu shared a photo of NTV presenter Natalie Githinji on Wednesday, calling for a national conversation on endometriosis

- Nyamu revealed that Kenya has only 700 gynaecologists and lacks official statistics on how many women are living with the condition

- Natalie Githinji was recently diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis and wrote an open letter to the president that went unanswered

Nominated Senator Karen Nyamu has stepped into the growing conversation around endometriosis in Kenya, using NTV presenter Natalie Githinji's recent diagnosis to push for urgent government action.

In a Facebook post published on Wednesday, August 19, Nyamu shared a photo of Natalie alongside a lengthy call for a national reckoning with the disease.

The post came weeks after Natalie was hospitalised in the ICU after being diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis, one of the most severe classifications of the condition.

Nyamu's concerns over Kenya's capacity

Nyamu traced her involvement in the issue back to June 2024, when Kenya lost celebrated reggae MC and radio presenter Njambi Koikai to thoracic endometriosis.

Koikai, who passed away in June 2024 at the age of 38, had spent decades publicly documenting her harrowing battle with the disease, becoming one of Kenya's most recognised advocates for endometriosis awareness.

On July, 9 2024, the Senate held a session honouring Koikai's advocacy, during which Nyamu raised an alarm: Kenya did not even hold reliable statistics on how many women are living with endometriosis.

In September 2024, Parliament went a step further and formally questioned the Ministry of Health about the country's capacity to manage and treat the condition.

The response, Nyamu said, shocked her. Kenya has only 700 gynaecologists to serve a population of over 50 million people, a figure that underscores just how stretched the country's reproductive health infrastructure is.

Natalie's diagnosis reignites debate

Natalie Githinji's diagnosis added fresh urgency to the issue. The NTV presenter had previously written an open letter to President William Ruto appealing for government attention to endometriosis, but the letter went without a public response.

Her hospitalisation in the ICU brought the matter back into public focus, prompting renewed frustration among Kenyans who feel the government has been too slow to act.

Nyamu's intervention signals that the conversation is now moving beyond social media and into the political arena.

By tying Natalie's case to the broader legislative history of the issue, including Senate debates and parliamentary questions to the Ministry of Health, the senator is framing endometriosis not as a personal health story but as a public health crisis requiring a policy response.

Endometriosis affects an estimated one in ten women of reproductive age globally, according to the World Health Organisation, yet it remains chronically underfunded and under-researched in many African countries, including Kenya.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

Reporting originally appeared via TUKO. Read the full source for additional context.