n May 2023, the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH) and Kilifi County Referral Hospital (KCRH), in collaboration with the Kenya Association of Pediatric Surgeons (KAPS), successfully hosted a pioneering Pediatric Surgical Camp and Inaugural Scientific Conference. The event, held under the theme “Safe and Sustainable Paediatric Surgical Practice,” brought together medical professionals from across Kenya and internationally to address long-standing gaps in specialized pediatric surgical care in Kenya’s Coastal region.

Over three days, surgical teams operated on 57 children, performing 66 procedures across a wide range of conditions—from undescended testes and hernias to complex urological and colorectal cases. Patients ranged from 4 days to 14 years old, with the majority being male. The camp highlighted the urgent need for specialized pediatric surgical services in the region, where many conditions could have been treated earlier if services had been available.