For many older people, ageing comes with a difficult question: where do they turn when their health needs become more complex?
It is a question that has stayed with Naima Badhawi, founder of Naima Foundation in Mombasa County, and one that has now grown into an ambitious vision to establish a specialised hospital dedicated entirely to the care and dignity of older persons.
Speaking during the International Day of Older Persons celebration, Badhawi reflected on the invaluable contribution older people have made and continue to make to families, communities and society.
She described them as custodians of tradition, values, history and a rich cultural legacy that connects generations.
But beyond celebrating them, she said society must also ask whether enough is being done to care for them in their later years.
“Where do our older persons go when they need specialised medical care? Who understands the complex health challenges that come with ageing?” she posed.
“And where can an old person receive not only medical treatment, but also dignity, companionship, rehabilitation, psychological and psychotherapeutic support and compassionate care?”
For Badhawi, these questions have been at the heart of an idea that began almost four years ago.
What started as a concern for the wellbeing of older persons has since developed into a vision to establish a fully fledged specialised geriatric hospital.
The proposed facility is expected to have a 400-bed capacity and will be located in Vipingo, Kilifi County.
Badhawi says the proposed hospital is not simply about putting up another medical facility. It is about creating a healthcare environment where older people can receive treatment while retaining their dignity, independence and sense of belonging.
She said the idea was never conceived primarily as a business venture.
Rather, it was born out of the realisation that older persons have unique healthcare needs that require specialised attention and understanding.
Ageing can bring multiple and sometimes interconnected challenges, requiring healthcare professionals to look beyond a single illness. The proposed facility therefore seeks to provide a more comprehensive approach to elderly care, incorporating medical treatment, rehabilitation, psychological and psychotherapeutic support, companionship and compassionate care.
For Badhawi, caring for older people is also about recognising what they have given to society.
Long before the emergence of modern institutions, older members of communities served as advisers, storytellers, mentors and custodians of customs and traditions. They passed knowledge from one generation to another and helped shape families and communities.
Yet, as society changes and families become increasingly stretched by economic and social pressures, the traditional systems of caring for older people are also changing.
It is against this backdrop that Badhawi believes specialised geriatric care has become increasingly important.
Her proposed hospital in Vipingo is envisioned as a place where older people can receive care tailored to their needs while being treated with the respect they deserve.
Badhawi’s vision also reflects a broader call for society to rethink how it views ageing—not as a period of decline, but as a stage of life deserving investment, respect and quality care.
As she works to turn the four-year-old vision into reality, the dream is clear: a specialised institution where an older person does not have to choose between medical care and dignity.
A place where treatment comes with compassion, rehabilitation comes with hope, and ageing is met not with neglect, but with respect.
For Badhawi, the journey began with a simple question.
Where do our older persons go when they need care?
She now hopes to help provide an answer.
By Fred Azelwa.